A Gift of Love
by magalena
Summary: Summary: A child unexpectedly comes into Hermione's life through unusual circumstances. When the secret of the child's paternity is revealed, it will change all of their lives forever. Written for the 2012 Lucius Big Bang on the LJ. (FYI: I post on LJ as madeleone) AN: Rating for bits of violence and strong language.
1. Chapter Prologue

A Gift of Love

Prologue

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Disclaimer: I do not own HP, I make no money from this work.

A/N: Many thanks go to my lovely helpers, my beta and Brit-picker: talesofsnape, and my alpha: morethansirius, their help and input were invaluable.

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_Early morning hours of, June 25, 1995._

Lucius was horrified. He was living inside a nightmare with no way out. There had been stirrings for a while. He'd felt—feared really—the Dark Lord's power returning. He hadn't known what it meant, but he did now.

That sycophant, Pettigrew, the filthy rat, had managed to bring back their 'Lord'. Barty Crouch Jr. had abducted Harry Potter from the very midst of the Tri Wizard Tournament so that Pettigrew could use Potter's blood in a ritual to restore Lord Voldemort. One of the very first things the Dark Lord had done following his 'rebirth' was to call his 'loyal' Death Eaters to his side. Failure to respond to the call was a sure death sentence. Lucius knew this to be true.

He had been aghast to learn that, on the Dark Lord's order, the rat had killed Amos Diggory's boy, Cedric, as if he were nothing. The boy had been the son of a long pureblood line, and he'd been dispatched as though he were little more than yesterday's rubbish. If the Dark Lord would order this boy's death on a whim, what guarantee was there that the same could not happen to any of their children, to Draco?

Upon Potter's escape with Diggory's body, Lord Voldemort had been demented in his rage, ordering the Death Eaters present to prove their loyalty by wreaking havoc on the Muggle families of Muggle-born witches and wizards. With little choice in the matter Lucius had followed the mob, but stayed to the fringes, away from the most rabid followers. Before long they broke into groups.

The first house his group was directed to by Crabbe was empty. It appeared abandoned; the family who lived there had long ago moved on. The others were like rabid dogs, ready to tear each other apart in frustration at this point. Then Macnair recalled that there had been a Muggle-born girl in his nephew's class, Ella or Eliza—something like that—Desmond, and he knew where that family lived. He instructed them to Apparate to the nearby village of Ellswick and to meet him at the west end of town. Lucius didn't want to follow, but really couldn't think of a reason not to, at least not one that the Dark Lord would accept. And he knew word would get back regarding his lack of participation if he didn't go. There was no doubt of that. So, reluctantly he went along.

When he arrived it was an easy enough task to follow the trail the Death Eaters had taken as they'd left a path of destruction in their wake: street lights knocked out, windows broken, rubbish bins overturned. Farther down the road leading out of town, far off on a side lane, he heard the shouts of triumph and knew that this time the Muggle family his companions sought had not escaped their fate.

As Lucius walked up the lane he could hear things being smashed and shouts from inside. Soon the sounds of curses filled the air and the screams followed as the torturing began. Lucius' stomach lurched as he stood in the doorway. There were three Muggles in the room who looked as if they'd just been dragged from their beds, a middle-aged couple and a young man. There was no sign of the Muggle-born witch whose family Macnair claimed this was. Macnair and Avery were torturing the males while Crabbe held the woman, making her watch. As he held her Lucius could see he was touching her and whispering things in her ear while she struggled. He was probably telling her what kind of nightmares lay in store for her once her kin were dead, building on her fear and terror.

Goyle stood by the door, looking dumbfounded, as if he didn't want to be here, but like Lucius, he knew there was no escape. Nott looked revolted as well. Avery was casting the Cruciatus on the father, but Macnair preferred blades and was using them on the boy. Looking up with a psychotic grin on his face, he called to the three by the door. "You're missing all the fun, boys. Don't be shy, come, join in."

"You're disgusting, Macnair," snarled Nott.

"I'm doing my Lord's bidding, Nott," he replied. "Will you do any less?"

Lucius sneered, "I don't know about these two, but Malfoys don't sully themselves with this kind of filth. I'll check outside for stragglers and cast the Morsmordre."

Macnair shrugged and turned back to his task.

Nott grabbed Lucius' arm as he went to pass. "Lucius, this is wrong," whispered Nott. "I'm all for blood purity and protecting our world but this is not the way to go about it. This accomplishes nothing."

Goyle nodded in agreement. Lucius leaned close and muttered, "How can we stop it? Are you willing to tell the Dark Lord that, Edward? You, Gregory?" Both men shook their heads in denial. "You heard what happened to the Diggory boy. That could just as easily have been one of our sons. Look, I don't like any of this either, but what are our options? Take our families and run? How far do you think we would get now that _He_ is back? I have no idea how we will get through this, but it seems in our positions, we have little choice at this point. We must protect ourselves and our families." Lucius glanced over the other men's heads and shuddered. "If you can't bring yourself to participate in this debacle—and I know I certainly can't—then find some other tasks as excuses. Goyle, stand outside and guard the door. Nott, search the cellar or out back, say you're looking for others who might be hiding. I'll be checking the perimeter and casting Morsmordre." Saying that, Lucius turned and stalked out the door.

He'd managed to get halfway down the lane before he had to stop and retch in the bushes. After several minutes he stood and wiped his mouth with a pristine linen handkerchief. He then turned and calmly cast a spell. "_Morsmordre!_"

As the Dark Mark rose above the house he heard a shriek from the end of the lane and the sound of someone running up the path. "Nooo! Mum... Dad... Robbie... No!"

Fuck! It must be the Desmond girl, the Muggle-born witch. Even knowing that he should just let her run by, let her dash blindly to her own fate, he just couldn't do it. Lucius grabbed her, covering her mouth to stifle her cries. He confiscated her wand and dragged her off the path. She hadn't even seen him, his Death Eater robes helping him to blend in with the darkness.

The girl fought like a wild thing, biting and scratching, kicking at him with her heels. He dragged her back into the woods, using his wand to erase their trail. He was trying to put some distance between them and the path, but also to get her as far away from the sounds of her family being tortured and murdered as he could. The girl refused to give up and kept struggling, fighting him. Finally, judging they were far enough away and safe for the moment at least, he sat on a log and cast a muffling spell, both to keep the sounds of her mother's screams out and to keep the girl's cries from carrying too far.

Her attempts to escape were weakening and Lucius simply held her tight to his chest as he spoke softly but urgently to her. "Shhh... You can't help them. It's too late. I'm sorry. There's nothing you can do. You can't stop what is happening. You must protect yourself."

The girl stopped struggling buried and her face in his chest, keening her grief. After several minutes she calmed enough to ask, "Why? Why are they doing this? Why are you doing this?"

Lucius flinched to hear her group him in with the monsters that were in her home right now. Yet why shouldn't she? He was here, and so by his very presence he was condoning it. "I am here because I have no choice. But I refuse to participate in what they are doing."

"But, _why_ are they doing this?" she asked desperately.

"Because the Dark Lord has returned and he sees your kind as an abomination. He wants to destroy you and those who created you." Looking down into her tear stained face, all Lucius saw was a girl. Not an abomination, not some mutant creature, not a threat to anything in his world—merely a girl who had just lost everything she held dear. "You must leave here, now, tonight. You must go far away and never come back. For your own safety, leave now, girl. Go!" He offered her wand back to her, just wanting her gone.

She looked at him blankly. "And go where?" she asked. "I have nowhere to go, I have no one else. Nothing. My only family is up that hill, dying at the hands of your brethren, even as we speak."

She choked on a sob and dropped to her knees in front of him, bowing her head. "Kill me."

"What?" Lucius gasped.

"Kill me. Do it now."

"Didn't you hear me, girl? I'm letting you go, but you must leave, quickly."

"Didn't you hear me, Death Eater? I have no where else to go, and even if I did, my only reasons for living have just been stripped from me. Kill me. You'll be doing me a mercy. Better that than let your friends find me."

Lucius stared at her in disbelief. Then, glancing in the direction of her home, he thought what would happen to the girl if Macnair or Avery got their hands on her. He pulled out his wand and stood. Taking a few steps away he looked back at her. He lifted his wand to cast the Killing Curse. He just couldn't bring himself to do it. His hand dropped uselessly at his side.

Finally, pocketing his wand, he stepped up to the girl, and reaching down pulled her to her feet. Lucius pulled a chain with a small medallion from around his neck and slipped it over her head. "This is a Portkey. It will take you to a safe house I have set up. The house is secret kept; you will be safe there until we can figure out a plan. There is a house-elf who will care for you. Her name is Twink. I will come to you as soon as I safely can, but it may be several days. I'll help you find a place to go, somewhere safe."

She looked up now, pain and confusion in her face. She asked the very same question she had asked minutes before. "Why are you doing this?"

He looked into her eyes, equally as confused as she. "I don't know. I just know I can't kill you. I can't give you to them, and I can't leave you here. This is the only thing I can think of."

Before she could respond he whispered something, tapped the Portkey and, in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

TBC


	2. Chapter 1

A Gift of Love

Chapter One

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Disclaimer: I do not own HP, I make no money from this work.

A/N: Many thanks go to my lovely helpers, my beta and Brit-picker: talesofsnape, and my alpha: morethansirius, their help and input were invaluable.

* * *

_Nov. 5, 2003_

Lucius sat at his desk, waiting for his first appointment of the afternoon to arrive. Mac Fletcher was new to the case, and having someone who could look at things with a fresh eye gave Lucius renewed hope. Mac was the older brother of Mundungus Fletcher. After the war Mundungus had bartered his status as a member of the Order of the Phoenix into a full time profession, by opening his own business. Who better to handle the public's security issues or to find missing people or items than someone who knew the ins and outs first hand? His brother, Mac, after a successful career working in an elite investigative division of the MLE, had retired and recently joined his brother's business.

After being announced by a house-elf, Mac entered the study took a seat in the chair indicated before Lucius' desk. "Good day, Mr. Malfoy. My brother's reports for this month," he said, sliding the thin folder across the desk.

Lucius opened the folder and glanced at the two pages inside. "Nothing new then?"

Mac shook his head. He looked a bit doubtful, but then offered an opinion. "No. It's as if she simply disappeared from the face of the planet. Since I'm going to be taking over this investigation, I'd like to start from square one. It's very difficult to pick up a thread after nearly two years have passed, Mr Malfoy. I've read all the background files and I have a theory, but before we delve into that I'd like to get your input. I think I'll have a better feel for the case hearing your version of things first hand, rather than just reading what my brother may have thought was important. No offense to my brother, but Mundungus' skills lie in a direction other than investigation."

Lucius grimaced at the idea of having to go over the whole story again. "Is all this really necessary, Mr. Fletcher."

"Only if you really want to find Miss Desmond, or to learn why she left."

"She left because she decided to leave. I really don't care about the why of it. I merely want to know where she is now," declared Lucius.

"What if she's nowhere, sir?" Mac asked solemnly.

"What are you implying, Fletcher?"

"Has it never occurred to you that perhaps the reason Miss Desmond has not been found is because she may have met with foul play?"

Lucius' eyes widened in shock. Elise had stayed in his safe house for three years. From the night he had saved her, through the entire war, even while he was in Azkaban. It wasn't until after the war ended, however, that they had finally become lovers. They had been together for another three years, and then one day she was just gone. He'd been hurt, in the beginning, at the very idea of Elise's betrayal, and devastated that she had left him without so much as a note or an explanation. She had disappeared so effectively that he figured she must have planned it for quite a while. She'd even gone so far as to Obliviate Twink, the house-elf. Lucius assumed it was so that she could not reveal anything about Elise's plans or whereabouts.

Her defection had made him so bitter that he had tried for a time to deny that he even cared she was gone. At first he'd tried to convince himself that he was well rid of her, but after a year had gone by his doubts still plagued him and he'd hired an investigator to find her, telling himself he just wanted to know she was all right. But in all that time, he'd never once thought that she wasn't out there somewhere.

"I... dead? No, I'd never even considered that idea. Do you know something you aren't telling me? Because if I find out your brother has been stringing me along—"

"No, Mr. Malfoy. I don't know anything for sure. She could be alive, but very well hidden. She clearly learned very well from her activities during the war how to hide someone who didn't want to be found. I just have some theories I'd like to explore. But I'd like your personal recollections, if you don't mind."

After briefly considering it Lucius agreed. He spent the next couple of hours reviewing all the background information and answering all sorts of questions as the man took copious notes. During the course of the afternoon they'd dropped the formalities and begun using each other's first names.

Finally Lucius asked, "What is the nature of this theory?"

The man frowned. "I'm not sure how you're going to feel about what I think happened, Lucius. This witch we are looking for, your... errr... your..." He seemed to grope for a delicate term.

"My mistress, Mac. She was my mistress. We both know it. You needn't tiptoe around the issue."

"Yes. At any rate, bear with me through this. It is a rather long and convoluted theory, but I think it may have some merit.

"Firstly: you have told me yourself, that during the war she created a means to effectively hide and remove Muggle-borns and their Muggle families from the danger in this country. This was at great risk to herself. Miss Desmond was obviously very brave. Secondly: she then stayed with you after the war ended. Even when she no longer needed your protection, she stayed with you willingly and eventually became your mistress. Miss Desmond was fiercely loyal, but more than that, I believe she bore a strong affection for you. Thirdly: the house-elf, Twink, was devoted to her and she was equally devoted to Twink. Miss Desmond clearly was a defender of the weaker and the downtrodden."

"Yes—yes. Everything you've said is true. Elise was brave and loyal and she defended the underdog. What is your point in all this, Mac?"

"My point is this: why you are so willing to believe that this woman—this brave, loyal, fearless woman—would callously Obliviate the house-elf who served her faithfully for six years? Why? To cover her trail? Knowing of all the Muggle families she helped to hide away during the course of the war, I think she knew well enough how to cover her own trail. Was this the type of woman to leave you with no warning at all, a man she clearly cared for—cared for enough to flout convention by living as your mistress for nearly three years? I don't think it happened that way. I don't think so at all."

Lucius' eyes narrowed. "So what _do_ you think happened?"

"I believe that someone may have confronted Miss Desmond at her cottage. I obviously don't know what was said, whether she was bribed or threatened... or worse; I have no way of knowing. The obvious person to have done this would be your wife, Lucius. I believe it was this event that caused Miss Desmond to flee. I simply cannot believe, knowing everything you've told me about this witch that she was the one to wipe that elf's memory. I think it far more likely that your wife, realizing the elf would have information you could use to find your mistress, was willing to Obliviate not just the memory of that day, but to scramble the poor creature's brains to the point that she could not provide you with any information at all."

Lucius considered the idea. It did make sense. "It's possible I suppose, as theories go. But I still don't see how this helps us find Elise."

"I guess it really depends on how far you want to take this. First, we need to determine if there really is anything to this theory. There are ways to question Madam Malfoy that would prevent her from lying."

"Veritaserum?"

"Are you willing to go that route?"

Lucius swallowed as he considered the consequences. He didn't love Cissy, didn't think he ever had, really. They had drifted apart years ago, but had stayed together simply for convention's sake. They had virtually lived separate lives since the end of the war. Still, she was Draco's mother, and he didn't want his son to be hurt in the cross-fire. But if she'd done something to Elise... "I need to know the truth. One way or the other, I need to know."

"Think carefully, Lucius. You may learn things you really don't want to know. While your wife is my first choice as prime suspect, your son would be a close second."

"Draco? Don't be ridiculous. Draco didn't even know of Elise."

"Not that you know of. But what if he'd learned that you had a mistress, and was worried that it might hurt his mother? Often a young man will go to great lengths to protect his mother."

Lucius didn't even want to contemplate that scenario. "Let's question Cissy first and see where that leads."

"Very well, I'll work on getting the Veritaserum. It may take a while. It's a controlled substance."

"Don't bother. I have my own sources. It still may take awhile, but I trust him implicitly. Once I have it, I can slip it into her tea. Help me determine what questions I need to ask her. This is one interrogation I don't want to botch up."

* * *

_Feb. 2004_

Lucius had of course contacted his old friend Severus, who agreed after some gentle coercion to brew a fresh batch of Veritaserum. The process took the full course of a lunar cycle, plus, as Mac had indicated, it was a controlled substance. Thus several of the ingredients were tricky to obtain. So it was mid-February by the time he was able to carry out the plan.

Severus had insisted on knowing what he wanted it for, and then also demanded that he be present for the questioning. Lucius figured that Severus was just worried that he _would_ botch it up somehow or manage to overdose Cissy, thus revealing their illegal activity. Severus was _such_ a straight arrow these days. Of course he didn't object to brewing the potion. He just wanted to ensure that they weren't caught at it.

Afterward, Lucius was relieved to learn that at least Cissy had not dispatched Elise in any violent or permanent manner. She had, however, confronted Elise personally, threatened her and then, once Elise had left, Cissy had gone back to the cottage and Obliviated Twink's memory. She admitted she'd done more damage than she had planned as the spell had been performed in a fit of anger. The house-elf defied Cissy outright when she gave her a command, telling her that she was bound to Miss Elise not to Mistress Malfoy. Cissy had meant to remove just the memories that showed proof of her duplicity, but had ended up scrambling all of Twink's memories of the last several years.

Once the Veritaserum had worn off, Cissy had left in a fit of outrage. Lucius poured a brandy and stood by the window staring out silently, seemingly lost in thought.

Severus sipped his own brandy for several minutes before he interrupted Lucius' thoughts. "Well, you've learned what you wanted to know. What now?"

Lucius looked surprised, as if he had completely forgotten that Severus was even there. With a sigh he walked over and sat in the wing chair opposite him and answered, "I think there are going to be a lot of changes in my life from this point forward. My marriage was never a love match, merely a duty to family. We've plodded along for nearly three decades, putting up with each other, but I really think this is the final straw." Lucius rubbed idly at the sleeve that covered his Dark Mark. "I'm done with duty to the old ways. It's brought me nothing but pain and suffering. Cissy's meddling has destroyed the only good thing I've ever had in my life, aside from Draco. I'm done with her as well. I'll contact my lawyers and file for divorce."

Severus seemed shocked. Divorce happened in the wizarding world, but amongst the old pureblood families it was very rare. "You actually intend to divorce Cissy over this?"

"Yes, surprisingly enough I do. The time I spent with Elise showed me what it is like to be truly happy with a woman. That's something I've never had with Cissy. Perhaps I can find that again with someone. I regret now that I never told Elise how much she meant to me. Even if I were to find her now... Well, it's likely too late for that. She's been gone nearly two and a half years and I'm sure she's started a new life. Still, I'd like to know that she's well and not in need of anything, so I suppose I will have Mac Fletcher continue the search. He seems more competent than his brother at least."

After sitting in contemplation for a bit Lucius mused, "I've learned beyond a shadow of a doubt, the supremacy of blood purity is a fallacy. Being Muggle-born didn't make Elise inferior. In fact, she was one of the strongest witches I've ever known in both magic and in character." Lucius paused to look at his friend, who was studying him with interest. "Severus, I know you took a lot of flack for your feelings toward Lily Evans. I'm sorry for any part I played in that—"

Severus interrupted with a wave of his hand. "In spite of all the romantic folderol bandied about after the war—blasted bloody Potter and his big mouth—I got over Lily Potter long ago. She was a good friend in my childhood and while I may have wished for something more once, it simply wasn't meant to be. Perhaps the same is true of you and your lady, Lucius, or perhaps someday you will find her and start anew. Who's to say?"

Lucius shook his head sadly. "I'd like to believe the latter is possible, but I don't think that's ever going to happen."

* * *

_July 31, 2004_

Hermione sat in Harry's yard and watched the festivities winding down around her as more of an observer than a participant. Harry's Birthday Bash was an annual event. The boy who'd never had a party or even a birthday present as a child was always showered with attention and gifts every year by his friends and family.

Most of the Weasleys were present, with the exception of Charlie and Ginny. The former had been unable to get away from the dragon reserve, and the latter was playing professional Quidditch and had an exhibition match in Portugal today. Minister Shacklebolt had stopped by, though he hadn't stayed long. Minerva, Hagrid and Filius had represented the Hogwarts contingent. Snape had shown up with his amour du jour. In the years since the war he had turned into a regular celebrity playboy. The rest of the crowd consisted of old friends from school and more recent acquaintances.

Harry's very pregnant wife waddled over to join Hermione. She eyed the low seat that Hermione sat on with a reluctant look. "Oh, please. Even if I did manage to get myself down there without injuring something, it would take more than magic to get me up. Be a love and help me out here, won't you, Granger?"

With a smile, Hermione nodded. All it took was a flick of her wand and the bench grew several inches taller, and then she summoned some cushions from some empty seats across the yard. She even stood and, holding the other woman's hands, helped to lower her gently into the seat. "Dear Merlin, Pans, do triplets run in the Potter or Parkinson genes? Are you sure there's not more than one in there? "

Pansy shook her head. "No, at least the Healer says not. But I think this baby must part hippogriff. I can't believe I let Harry talk me into this." She clutched her lower back and moaned.

"Are you okay, Pansy? Should I get Harry?" asked Hermione in concern.

Pansy grimaced but shook her head. "No. Spasms—they've been coming off and on all day. There's nothing he can do right now. Let Harry enjoy his party. I have a feeling it won't be much longer now, though, before the newest Potter decides to make her entrance into the world."

Hermione looked at her friend and asked curiously, "Are you scared? About the birthing part I mean?"

"Terrified," she admitted. "I mean we're magical beings for fuck's sake. Why can't the Healer just wave a wand and zap the kid out of there? But I guess some things just have to be done the natural way. That's what they keep telling me anyway," she concluded grumpily.

Hermione took in the crowd around the yard. Quite a few of their friends were already married, and some of them, like Harry and Pansy, had started families as well. Seeing the focus of Hermione's attention, Pansy asked, "Ever consider settling down yourself, love. Having a baby or two."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Sometimes, yeah, I think I'd like a baby some day, but by that time all my friends' kids will probably be finishing up at Hogwarts. Besides, there's no daddy type in sight in my life right now, and I don't really fancy the idea of raising a child all alone. I know you've heard me talk about my friend, Lisa; she lives near my parents. She's a single mum. You know her little girl, Orrie, is my goddaughter and I adore her, but I can't even begin to imagine how I would have coped in Lisa's situation."

Pansy smiled and patted Hermione's hand. "I think you'd make a stellar mum, Hermione, alone or not. If you don't find any good daddy material you could always go to one of those sperm donor places."

Hermione snorted. "Not likely. I'll just have to spend my time spoiling my friends' kids."

"Hey, what about Severus for a sperm donor, then? You should definitely do it the old fashioned way, though. I'll bet he'd be hot."

Hermione choked, nearly swallowing an ice cube from her glass of lemonade as Pansy pounded on her back. "Professor Snape? Are you nuts?"

Pansy giggled at Hermione's reaction. "Well, no. He needs to settle down sooner or later. All this playboy crap just isn't his style, you know? And don't you two work together? I'll bet you have a lot in common. You'd be perfect for each other."

"No, we don't work together. We collaborated on one project and we nearly killed each other numerous times. The man is impossible."

Hermione did independent research in both Charms and Potions, which suited her just fine, as she could pick and choose the projects she really wanted to work on. "He and I barely managed to get through six months working together. We'd never be able to survive as a couple."

"It was just an idea. I've always had a soft spot for Severus. I'd like to see him find some happiness in the end."

"Yes, I'd have to agree with you there, Pansy. If anyone deserves happiness it's Professor Snape, but he won't find it with me. One or both of us would end up in Azkaban."

"Ughhh!" Pansy clutched her tummy, and leaning forward, she lifted her long skirt to look at the puddle forming beneath her. "Shit! I think my water just broke. Go get your best friend, Granger. Tell him his wifey has an extra special birthday gift for him and it's going to be delivered at St. Mungo's."

* * *

They were all waiting at St. Mungo's for news of the birth. Hermione got a call on her mobile and stepped outside the building to take it. She'd managed to charm the thing to vibrate to alert her to incoming calls but she still didn't get a decent signal when surrounded by magic.

The call was from her mum, so she called her back, excited to tell her that Harry was going to become a dad at any moment. When her mum answered however, her voice was shaking badly between sobs. "Mum... Mum, what's wrong? What's happened? Is Daddy okay? Mum! Damn it! Calm down, I can't understand a word..." Hermione was near tears herself. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to find Ron there.

He'd followed her out, and when he'd heard her talking to her mum he could tell that something was seriously wrong. He wrapped Hermione in a hug and took the phone from her.

"Mrs. Granger, this is Ron Weasley," he said in his take charge Auror voice. "You're scaring Hermione here, ma'am. You need to calm down and tell me what's wrong. Is Mr. Granger all right?—Could you put him on, please?"

Hermione sagged in relief to know that her dad was okay. Ron kept his arm around Hermione and her head tucked close to his chest as he talked to her dad. He spoke quietly for several minutes before he concluded, "I'll tell her, sir. Yes, it is good that she's not alone just now. Thanks, sir, I'm sure she'll call you back soon."

Ron flipped the phone shut and led Hermione to a nearby bench. Seeing his wife, Lavender, standing in the doorway of the hospital, he motioned her over. Surprisingly, Lavender and Hermione had managed to become half-way decent friends in the years after the war. Once Lavender had come to the realization that what was between Ron and Hermione really was truly just friendship and nothing romantic, she'd been able to accept Hermione. He was happy she was here now. It never hurt to have a woman's comfort at times like this.

"Ron, what is it? What's happened? I know it's something bad," whispered Hermione.

Ron swallowed, glancing up at Lavender. He took Hermione's hands in his and said, "It's never easy to give someone this kind of news, love. I'm so sorry. Your friend Lisa is dead."

"No!" Hermione's hands convulsed in his. "That's not possible... How? She's only thirty-two. She has a two-year old little girl, who needs her mum. How can she be dead?"

"She was out with a group of her Muggle friends... There was a car crash. They were broadsided by a lorry at an intersection. They think the lorry's brakes failed."

"Oh dear gods." Hermione sobbed in Ron's arms as Lavender eased in on the bench next to her and patted her shoulder comfortingly. She dug around in her purse and offered Hermione a handful of tissues before hugging her, too, surrounding her in the comfort of her friends.

After a while Hermione said tearfully, "I can't go back in there like this. This should be a happy time for them."

Lavender took charge like a battlefield commander. "Don't you worry, sweetie. Harry and Pans will understand. Ron, you take her home. She's too shook up. It's not safe for her to Apparate right now. I'll go get a message to Harry about what's going on. Then I'll pop on over in a few minutes and make you a nice pot of tea and get you settled in at home. You can call your mum back when you feel up to it and make whatever plans you need to make."

True to her word, Lavender came and sat with Hermione, fixed her tea, and talked for quite a while. Hermione talked about her friendship with Lisa, who was someone few of her other friends had ever met; although they had heard of her and her daughter, Orrie, as Hermione was a proud godmother.

Lisa had first become friends with Hermione's parents, when she had moved to the small town in western Ireland where they lived. Despite the popular belief that Hermione had hidden her parents halfway around the world in Australia, that was a decoy location. As a ruse, she had put the information out there that they were in Australia, while she had actually sent them to Foxford, a small town in County Mayo, Ireland. In addition, rather than Monica and Wendell Wilkins, they had used the aliases Mary and Patrick Murphy. They had stayed in Ireland after the war, although they were Linda and John Granger again now.

Lisa had rented the small cottage at the back of their property and they knew her and loved her like a second daughter. Her daughter Orrie was like their own grandchild. Hermione had come to know Lisa through her parents, and although Lisa was seven years older than Hermione, the two had discovered they had a great deal in common, not least of which being that they were both Muggle-born witches.

Hermione traveled to Ireland for the funeral and stayed with her parents for a couple of weeks. Luckily Lisa had made arrangements for her daughter. She'd made a will naming Hermione the little girl's guardian and had requested that Hermione legally adopt Orrie. Since Lisa had no Muggle family left, if anything happened to her she'd wanted her daughter to be raised in a magical environment.

Looking back later on the conversation with Pansy at Harry's birthday party, Hermione couldn't help but reflect on the irony of the fact that, technically, she and the Potters had all became parents on the same day.

* * *

_Sept. 2004_

Lucius' divorce was final by the first of September. When you had money to grease the wheels of bureaucracy, it tended to speed up the process. Plus, Lucius had offered Cissy a generous settlement if she agreed not to contest the divorce. She had decided to cut her losses and start over in France. They had pushed it through the system at record speed, or at least record speed for the wizarding legal system, where the wheels moved slower than treacle on a cold day.

While Draco had not been happy to hear the news of their divorce, he also hadn't really been surprised either. He had admitted to Lucius that he'd always suspected there was no real love between his parents.

"As you are well aware, Draco, my marriage to your mother was arranged. That was the way things were done in pureblood circles, and we were both willing to do our familial duty. I had thought—hoped—that perhaps over time we would come to share an affection for each other..." Dear gods, how does one tell your only son that there was never any warm feelings at all between his parents. It seemed so cold, so wrong. "Well, at any rate, you, at least, will not have to deal with an arranged marriage. When you marry, it shall be someone of your own choosing."

"Right, as long as she's a pureblood," said Draco, sarcastically.

"That matters not, Draco. Things I was taught—things I taught you—much of it was wrong. I know that now, and I think you know it too. When you decide to marry, I assure you the choice will be yours, whether she be pureblood, halfblood, Muggle-born, or even a... a... M... Muggle." Dear gods, that last had been difficult to say. "The important thing is that you marry the woman of your choice, not mine or your mother's."

"And what if it ends up being the man of my choice, father?"

Lucius' eyes widened, "Is this your not-so-subtle way of telling me you're gay, son?"

Draco, burst out laughing. "No, father, I'm not. I'm just pulling your leg. You were being so very liberal about my choices, I just wanted to see if I could get a rise out of you."

"Very funny, Draco, very funny," Lucius responded between gritted teeth. "Will you have dinner with your lonely old father, or do you have other plans?"

Draco agreed to stay for dinner, which Lucius nearly came to regret when it turned out to be Twink who was on duty. Lucius had been trying to reintegrate Twink into the Manor staff.

She had been left on her own at the cottage which had been Elise's home for many years. It probably hadn't been a good thing that he had left Twink there as a sort of caretaker even after Elise left. Since Twink had been rather confused due to the botched memory charm, Lucius had thought she would be better off left by herself. But house-elves were meant to serve people and leaving Twink in isolation had just caused her to become even more disoriented. Finally realizing that, Lucius had ordered Twink to serve him at the Manor three afternoons each week, although she was still allowed to live at the cottage.

Though Twink's recent memories had been scrambled, her memories from the past remained crystal clear. Upon seeing Draco she immediately flew into a tizzy. "Oh, young master, you's is being all growed up now, and so handsome you is. A true Malfoy to be sure. Twink is so happy to be seeing the young master again after so many years." She proceeded to fuss over him, repeating how happy she was to see him and what a handsome young wizard he'd grown into.

"Twink?" responded Draco in shock. He was surprised to see the elf who had served in the nursery when Draco had been a toddler and then had continued to take care of him until he'd gone off to Hogwarts. "Twink, I can't believe it's really you." Draco looked suspiciously at his father, as he continued, "I was told that you went to serve some other family."

"Oh, no young master, Twink is a true Malfoy elf, she is. She would never go to some other family..." Twink paused in confusion. "Except... Twink did serves Miss Elise for many years and she was not a Malfoy." The elf turned to Lucius, "That is right, is it not, Master? Twink did serve Miss Elise, she served her well, she did."

Lucius nodded. "Yes, Twink. You served her at my command, even though she was not a Malfoy. You served her very well indeed."

"Who is..." Draco started to ask, but was cut off by a wave of Lucius hand as he observed Twink very closely.

Twink looked at Lucius with sad, teary eyes. "Miss Elise left us, didn't she, master?"

Half the time Twink didn't even remember that Elise was gone. "Yes, Twink, she did. Do you remember something? Do you know where she went? Did she tell you where she was going?"

Twink shook her head. "Did the Miss leave because of me? Was Twink a bad house-elf?" Her lip trembled and she looked to be on the verge of self-punishment.

"No, Twink, you were not a bad house-elf, you served Miss Elise loyally. You were more than a servant. You were a good friend to her when she most needed one." The little elf nodded but still looked very sad. Lucius had half a mind to send her home to the cottage, but figured that keeping her at the Manor to serve dinner to him and Draco would keep her better occupied. "It's your day to serve, Twink. Would you like to serve Draco and me?"

"Oh, yes, master. I would. Twink is a good house-elf, I is. I will serve you both and I will be showing yous what a good elf I am."

"That's fine, Twink, but please give us a bit of time before dinner. I think we both could use a drink and, unless I'm mistaken, Draco has some questions for me."

Draco did indeed have a great many questions which at first Lucius was wont to brush aside. But in the end he decided that Draco was an adult and he told him the truth of how he had met Elise and what she eventually came to mean to him. Lucius half expected Draco to storm off in a fit of anger but he reacted with surprising maturity, asking serious questions and making several astute observations. Lucius looked on his son with pride, realizing that the spoiled little boy he had known had grown up and become a rather admirable young man.

Father and son spent a companionable meal together, discussing events from the past to the present and possibilities for the future. Things were going too smoothly until near the end of the meal when Twink—who had commented continually throughout the meal on how happy she was to see Draco again—made a comment that brought all conversation to a standstill. "You was such a beautiful baby, you was, Master Draco. Twink thinks Miss Elise's baby, must be's a most beautiful baby, too."

Draco's fork, which was filled with a bite of treacle tart, stopped halfway to his mouth and he stared in disbelief at the elf, and then turned to his father who appeared to be choking in mid swallow. Draco leaned over to thump his father on the back as he coughed into his napkin.

Turning toward Twink, Lucius inquired, "Twink, are you talking about some theoretical baby or have you remembered something I should know about?"

Twink turned toward Lucius and opened her mouth to answer, then stopped and frowned in consternation. "A real baby, I thinks," replied Twink. "But I doesn't know why I be's thinking that."

Shortly after that, Lucius released Twink to go home to the cottage. He and Draco retired to his study to share a brandy. Lucius seemed inordinately distracted until Draco interrupted his thoughts.

"You are very quiet, Father. What are you thinking?"

"I am thinking that if Twink's memory flashes are true and not just figments of her imagination, there is a very good possibility that you may have a little brother somewhere out there in the world, Draco. I'm also remembering something, Mac Fletcher, my private investigator said. He implied that it seemed very out of character for Elise to just pack up and leave without any explanation."

"Considering the possibility that she may have been pregnant sheds a whole new light on the situation, though, don't you think?" asked Draco. "When mother threatened her, your lady may have been more concerned about a danger to her child than to herself."

"It might explain a lot of things I'd never understood," agreed Lucius. "If only we could find away to return Twink's memories, I'm sure that would provide the answer to many of them."

"Father, one thing has me puzzled. Why did you say I might have a little brother out there somewhere? Why not a little sister?"

"Because a female born to the Malfoy line is a very rare occurrence, Draco, as you would know if you ever paid attention to your family history. The last girl child born into this family was over three centuries ago. The odds are much more likely for a son."

It seemed providential that Mac Fletcher showed up for his monthly report a week later. When Lucius revealed what Twink had alluded to, Mac agreed that, if true, it may have been a factor in Elise's sudden departure.

"Although, the only way to know for sure, Lucius, is if we could somehow restore that elf's memories."

"That seems unlikely," responded Lucius with a frown.

"I'm not so sure. I was talking to Dung, and he recalled that one of his former Order associates was at one time working on a means of restoring memories through some kind of advance Charm work. It's possible it could be adapted to house-elves. Or another option, perhaps a skilled Legilimens could find the truth?"

"A Legilimens?' Lucius seemed to perk up a bit at that idea. "I've never heard of a wizard using Legilimency on a non human creature."

"Well, I don't actually know if it's a possibility; I'm no expert on Legilimency. I'm just throwing ideas out there," admitted Mac.

Tapping his quill on the desk, Lucius considered for a moment before replying, "I'm no expert on the matter either, but I know someone who is. Let me check with him and you talk to your brother and try to get some more information about this associate of his. Then we'll see where we stand."

Lucius' source was, of course, Severus, who when asked about the idea of using Legilimency on Twink was appalled.

"There is no way in hell that I am going to go mucking about into the mind of a house-elf, Lucius, not even for you," he snapped. "The very idea is..." Severus shuddered in distaste. "I honestly don't think it's a possibility. Their minds are wired completely differently from ours."

"Mac had another idea but that didn't work out from his angle. Although, it occurs to me you might be able to assist with that, Severus." Lucius went on to explain about Mundungus' claim about the Order member contact. But when Mac had requested his assistance, Dung revealed that despite his previous claims of having influence in high places, he wasn't exactly held in the highest esteem by that particular Order member. Something to do with missing items during the war, otherwise referred to as stolen goods. It was all a horrible misunderstanding according to Dung, but still some people did tend to hold a grudge.

"What has that to do with me?" asked Severus suspiciously.

"Obviously, you have personal ties to the Order. I thought that you could approach this witch and she would be more agreeable to a request from you than from Mac Fletcher, or from myself," explained Lucius patiently.

Severus glared at him with narrowed eyes. "Who exactly is this witch?" he asked suspiciously.

"That is what makes you the perfect choice to speak with her, as you know her personally. In fact, I seem to recall that you worked together on a project a while back. Hermione Granger"

Severus eyes flew wide and he sprung to his feet. "Granger!" he spat. "You can't be serious. The woman is impossible. That was the project from hell and I couldn't wait for it to be finished. I swear I nearly murdered her at least half a dozen time during the course of it, and I promised myself I would never, ever work with her again."

TBC


	3. Chapter 2

A Gift of Love

Chapter 2

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own HP, I make no money from this work.

A/N: Many thanks go to my lovely helpers, my beta and Brit-picker: talesofsnape, and my alpha: morethansirius, their help and input were invaluable.

* * *

_Early Oct. 2004_

Hermione brought Orrie home from Ireland near the end of August, so she'd been her sole care-giver for over a month. It was a difficult period of adjustment for both of them. The little girl kept asking for her mummy, and she was very clingy with Hermione, which was perfectly understandable given the situation. Orrie had taken a shine to Pansy right away, and, although it had taken a while, she had finally warmed up to Harry, too. It helped Harry's cause that Orrie was fascinated by the baby, Rose. Thus far, though, she wanted nothing to do with any of the Weasleys, Neville, Luna or any of Hermione's other friends. Yet for some unknown reason, she adored Snape.

It was near the end of September when he had showed up at her house one day—Hermione didn't have an office, she worked from home—with a proposal for a new project. After the last fiasco, she'd sworn never, ever to work with Severus Snape again. However, it gave her a sense of satisfaction that he'd been the one to approach her this time. It was while she was considering his proposal that Orrie awoke from her nap. Hermione quickly excused herself.

"What in the name of Merlin is that noise?" he asked, following her uninvited. "Do you have a Kneazle in heat or something in here?"

Hermione turned with the little girl in her arms. She dearly wished she could have taken a picture of the gobsmacked look on Snape's face. "That's a child, Granger," he whispered, as if perhaps she weren't already aware of the fact.

With a smirk Hermione replied, "Very astute, Snape. Good to know you haven't lost any of your keen super-secret spy powers of observation. She's a girl child to be specific; her name is Orrie and she's a little over two years old, twenty-seven months to be exact."

His eyes took in the condition of the room. It was completely decked out in little girl paraphernalia, complete with a rainbow and butterflies painted on the wall at the head of the bed. Clearly this was no temporary situation. "Why do you have a child? Whose is she and why is she here?"

"She's mine. Come. I'll introduce you two and explain." She grabbed Orrie's security blanket—they went nowhere, without blinky—not even into the next room. It was time for Orrie to eat, so Hermione led the way into the kitchen. She placed her gently in her high chair and, to Orrie's delight, Hermione set down a sippy cup and sprinkled a few Cheerios on the tray.

"What are you doing? You'll spoil her dinner," declared Severus.

Hermione rolled her eyes, and commented, "Oh, and you are the baby expert, I suppose? It's just a few nibbles to keep her busy while I warm up our food. Consider it an appetizer, if it makes you feel better. Do you want to join us? Nothing fancy, just some leftovers, but there's plenty, if you're hungry."

Severus nodded distractedly and sat at the table. Forehead wrinkled and brows drawn into a frown, he stared at the little girl as if she were a mystery... something completely foreign. Hermione paused and came to sit at the table for a moment. "Severus, this is my daughter, Orrie. Her mother, Lisa Kelly, was my good friend. She was a Muggle-born witch, and also a close friend of my parents. I was named her guardian in the event of... Well, I'm sure you can figure it out." Severus gave a slight bob of his head and Hermione continued. "It was Lisa's wish that I formally adopt Orrie. So as soon as the paper-work clears, she will legally be my daughter."

Turning to the little girl, Hermione said, "Orrie, this is my friend—" Severus sputtered a bit at this comment.

"Severus," chided Hermione, warningly.

"Sev'wus?" asked Orrie.

Hermione was surprised, as the child rarely spoke in front of strangers. "Yes, sweetie, this is Severus Snape, but you should call him Mr. Snape."

"Nape?"

"That's right Mr. Snape."

Orrie looked right at Severus and batted her big blue eyes, giving him a slobbery grin while she pounded her tray and sang, "Nape, Nape, Napey, Nape! Sev'wus!"

With a huge grin Hermione had got up to finish warming the food and had commented, "Why Severus, I do believe she's flirting with you." And from that moment on, in Orrie's eyes, Severus Snape could do no wrong.

* * *

_Dec. 2004_

The week before Christmas Hermione took Orrie to Grimmauld Place for Harry and Pansy's annual holiday party. Since the couple had decidedly run with different crowds in their younger days, the guest list was a definite mix. In the six years since the war had ended a lot of things had changed and schoolyard rivalries had cooled. That wasn't to say that everything was all sunshine and light, and blood prejudices had disappeared in the bold new post war world, because in many cases things were slow to change, but changing they were, albeit gradually.

Orrie was getting better—more comfortable—around people, but was still shy in crowds like this, and she clung to the familiar. She preferred to hang on Hermione's hip and bury her face shyly in Hermione's shoulder when confronted with new people, but she did consent to stay with Pansy while Hermione slipped away to wrap a couple of last minute gifts.

Before Hermione got back, Pansy's baby, Rose, woke up and Pansy had to change her diaper and feed her a bottle. Settling Orrie on the couch with a picture book, she said, "Can you sit here and look at this book for a few minutes, lovey, while Aunt Pansy changes Rosie's diaper?"

Orrie nodded. Pansy gave the toddler a kiss on the forehead and smiled as she pointed across the room. "Good girl. I'll be right over there if you need me, okey dokey?"

"Otay, Aunt Panzee."

Pansy had no sooner walked across the room to get the baby out of her playpen than a new group of guests arrived. A tall handsome blond poked his head in the doorway and spotted Pansy fussing with the baby. He sat on the couch to wait for a chance to speak to his friend. Looking over, he was surprised to see the little girl, barely a toddler really, sitting at the other end, her entire face practically buried in a book.

"Well, hello there little princess, what's your name?" he asked with a smile.

The little one looked up from her book, and Draco swore the tot actually rolled her eyes at him. "My no pwincess," she declared.

"Hmmm... Not a princess. Well then, what's your name, sunshine?"

She shook her little head, her brows drawn down into a frown. "My no sunsine."

"All right, no, princess... no sunshine. What is your name then, little miss?"

The little girl carefully set her book aside and rolled over onto her tummy dangling her legs over the edge of the seat until her feet slid down to the floor. She then strolled over to stand directly in front of Draco, her head coming just above his knee. Studying him carefully for a bit, she finally decided to grace him with her name. "My is Oh-wee"

"Oh-wee?"

"NO!" she declared in disgust. "Oh-wee!"

"Ummm... Oh-Wheee?"

"No, no, no!" She stomped her little foot and looked furious. "Not, Oh-wee—Oh-wee!"

At Draco's questioning look, her little lip stuck out and quivered a bit. Draco gulped. He was in deep trouble now; he knew she was on the verge of tears. He hated dealing with any female's tears, even one as tiny as this.

"Draco, are you harassing my special friend?"

Orrie turned and squealed in delight. "Sev'wus, Sev'wus Nape!" She proceeded to jump up and down, holding her arms up, indicating she wanted him to pick her up. To Draco's great shock, Snape did exactly that.

The little girl threw her arms around Snape's neck, giving him a buss on the cheek. "Mewwy Chwissmas, Sev'wus!"

"Merry Christmas to you, too, Orrie," Snape replied, acting as if it was the most normal thing in the world to see a small child hanging on the Potions master's neck and giving him kisses. Turning to Draco, Snape introduced, "Orrie Granger, this is Draco Malfoy, he's a very good friend of your Aunt Pansy."

"Dwago?" she asked.

"Close enough, Miss Orrie," replied Draco with a smile. Then, as the little girl's last name sunk in, he turned to Snape. "Wait, did you say... Granger? That's not possible."

"Granger adopted Orrie," explained Severus quietly, standing close to his godson.

Orrie had been studying Draco from the safe vantage point of Snape's arms and apparently she'd decided that if her Sev'wus liked this person, then he was most likely a person worthy of being liked. Without a word of warning, she suddenly lunged out of Snape's grasp, nearly giving him a heart attack as she attached herself to Draco. Wrapping her little arms around Draco's neck, she kissed him noisily on the cheek. "Mewwy Chwissmas, Dwago Maffoy!"

Draco laughed, as he held the little girl close. "And Merry Christmas to you, sunshine."

She looked puzzled now, but not angry with him. "My no sunsine."

"I know you're name's not sunshine. I like to call you that because you're bright and warm, and when you hug me it reminds me of the sunshine."

She shrugged and hugged him again, as she said with a shy smile, "Otay, Dwago."

Just then Hermione appeared. "Oh, sweet Morganna, don't tell me she's charmed another one."

"Another one, what?" asked Draco, as the tot continued to cling to him like a burr, running her hand over his hair as if she were petting a dog.

"She won't have anything to do with any of my friends, other than Harry, but she's cozying up to every Slytherin I know," explained Hermione, giving Snape a smirk. "She's collecting snakes like some little girls collect dollies."

Turning to her daughter, she held her arms out. "Come along, darling. Uncle Harry's getting ready to pass out gifts. Let's go see if there might be something special for you, shall we?"

"There you are, sunshine. Go to your mum," said Draco, handing her over.

As Hermione took her daughter from Draco's arms, something struck her as odd but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Just then Orrie hugged Hermione and kissed her cheek. "Mewwy Chwissmas, Mummy!"

Hermione gasped, "Oh, Orrie... What... What did you call me?"

"Mummy! My Mummy," she exclaimed, kissing her again.

"Orrie..." Hermione hugged her daughter tight, blinking back tears as she buried her face in her daughter's dark curls.

Just as Hermione drifted off with Orrie, Pansy arrived holding Rose in one arm and giving Draco a lop-sided hug with the other. "Oh, my, I think I might cry, myself," she said with a catch in her voice.

"About what?" asked Draco, looking puzzled.

"Orrie has been with Hermione since her mum Lisa died last summer, but up until now she's always called her Aunt Mynie. As far as I know, that's the very first time Orrie has ever called her Mummy."

* * *

Hermione was surprised, five days later, to answer her door and find both Severus and Draco there. She stepped back to usher them in, her brows drawn together in confusion. "Severus, I thought we'd agreed to take a break from the project until afters the holidays. Did I misunderstand?"

The project that Severus had recruited her for involved some research she had done a couple of years earlier relating to reversing long term memory damage from spells or curses. At the time, she had hoped that her work might lead to a breakthrough for Neville's parents. Although she had made some headway—it had improved Professor Lockhart considerably—the effect on the Longbottoms had been minimal at best. Severus' interest was in adapting the charm in relation to a house-elf for a private client of his. After some collaboration, he'd come up with an idea to create a special potion with both a relaxant and wit-sharpening properties to help prepare the patient prior to the application of the charm. Hermione was impressed and had high hopes for the procedure. However, the potion needed to 'cure' for several weeks; hence, their plan to wait until after the first of the year to continue.

"No, there was no misunderstanding. I am actually here on a personal errand." He looked nervous, embarrassed almost. But he hurried on to explain, "'Tis the holiday season, Hermione, and I have... That is to say... I thought perhaps..."

"Oh, for Merlin's sake. Spit it out, Severus. He's brought a gift for Orrie. But being the grumpy git he is, he has never played Father Christmas and got a child a gift willingly, so he doesn't know quite how to go about it. If you don't mind, Granger, I got her a little something myself since I was with him when he was shopping."

Hermione was both surprised and touched. "You've brought presents for Orrie? Both of you? That's so sweet."

Severus pulled the shrunken package from his pocket, enlarged it, and shoved it into Hermione's hands.

"But wouldn't you like to stay and have her open it? That's half the fun of bringing presents, seeing her reaction. She's napping right now, but she'll be up before long. I could make some tea."

"Thank you, we'd love some," answered Draco before Severus could object. He, too, removed a brightly wrapped gift, and enlarged it setting it on the end table where Hermione had set Severus' gift.

Hermione served tea and fresh homemade biscuits. It was a bit awkward at first, because although she had been working with Severus, socializing with him was a bit different. Even though they seemed to be getting on better than during the first project they'd shared, she wouldn't really consider them friends. Draco, at least, had no problem making small talk and revealed that Severus was spending Christmas at the Manor this year. She was secretly glad to hear it, being of the opinion that no one should be lonely on Christmas day, even if it did involve him spending time with a bastard like Lucius Malfoy. While Hermione's friendship with Pansy had forced her to get to know and accept Draco, her opinion of the elder Malfoy was still extremely low.

Before long she heard Orrie stirring and went to get her. "There's a very special surprise for you in the living room, sweetie," Hermione said as she set her down at the bottom of the stairs.

Orrie rushed in and squealed in delight to find both Severus and Draco sitting on the couch. "Sev'wus! Dwago!" she shouted as she stopped in front of them. She was so excited she didn't know who to go to first. She happily patted them both on the knee, first one and then the other. Finally, unable to decide she wrapped her pudgy little arms, one around the calf of each, and hugged them tight. Then she scrambled up onto the couch to settle herself right in between them like a miniature queen holding court. Grinning maniacally at Hermione, she commanded, "Tea, pwease, Mummy."

With a flick and a swish, Hermione produced a little sippy cup shaped like a real tea cup. Pretending to fill it from the tea pot, she winked at Severus and mouthed, 'juice,' before handing it to Orrie along with a plate with two small biscuits on it. Orrie chattered on, telling them all about how Mummy had baked the biscuits and she had 'help-ted' with the sprinkles.

Hermione sat back and watched with amusement as a two and a half year old child somehow managed to wrap two fully grown wizards—and unbelievably, one of them Severus Snape—firmly around her little finger. She couldn't help but think that she was going to have her hands full by the time her little charmer got old enough to attract boys. Dear Merlin, she was going to have her work cut out for her. Taking mercy on their guests, she distracted Orrie by showing her the gifts and telling her she could open them.

Orrie chose Draco's present to open first and screeched her approval as she pulled out a bright yellow plush bear with a smiling sun emblem on its tummy.

"Funshine Bear!" shouted Hermione in surprise. At the puzzled looks from the two men she explained, "He's a Care Bear." Since they still looked confused she elaborated further. "They're Muggle toys. They started back in the eighties, in the States. My mum's old college friend sent me one, Friend Bear, before they ever got marketed here in England."

Orrie hugged her bear tightly and declared, "Maffoy."

"What?" asked Hermione, perplexed.

"Him's name Maffoy," stated Orrie.

"His, darling. His name is Malfoy," corrected Hermione. "But you don't i_really/i_ want to name your bear, Malfoy, do you?"

Orrie frowned at Hermione and holding the bear tightly she nodded. "Him's name... His name be's Maffoy Bear."

Hermione already knew her daughter well enough to interpret that expression and she opted not to object to the objectionable name. "All right then, sweetie. Why don't you open Severus' gift now?" She handed her the other present. Orrie delightedly tore off the paper to reveal a book of beautifully illustrated nursery rhymes.

"Stowies! Wead me stowies, Sev'wus," she demanded, shoving the book into his hands as she crawled up onto his lap with blinky and Malfoy bear.

"Orrie... ask nicely," admonished Hermione.

Orrie turned to Severus to bat her big silvery-blue eyes at him and beg sweetly, "Pwease, Sev'wus... Pwease."

Trying to hide a smirk, he agreed, "Very well, my dear. But just a few stories, as Draco and I must be on our way soon."

While Severus was reading to Orrie, Hermione and Draco poured another cup of tea and moved across the hall to sit at her dining room table. Watching her formidable former Potions Master reading stories to her little girl and looking as though it were the most natural thing in the world for him was a bit disconcerting. She stated as much to Draco and was surprised when he revealed that Severus had been a frequent visitor at the Manor when he was growing up and had often read him bedtime stories.

Hermione mused as she observed Severus and Orrie. She found it wasn't all that difficult to imagine him with a little blond haired boy on his lap in the place of her curly haired daughter. Suddenly she heard the words of the story he was reading and realized something. "That's a book of Muggle nursery rhymes."

"Well, duh, Granger. That's why I bought her a Muggle toy as well; it was a Muggle toy shop. Severus insisted. He said that since both you and her real mum were Muggle-borns, he wanted the gift to be a reflection of that, to honor Orrie's Muggle heritage. He said she should grow up learning about both worlds."

Hermione had to blink very fast and choke back a tiny sob at Draco's revelation. It was such a sweet thing that Severus had put such consideration into Orrie's gift.

She looked up to see Draco studying her as she watched Severus and Orrie together. He looked uncomfortable for a moment but then he cleared his throat and spoke softly. "Granger, look, I've never really come out and said this, but I know I said and did some pretty cruel things when we were younger. I've learned a lot since then. After the war I learned that the things I thought I knew about Muggles and Muggle borns were all a pile of shite. I know how wrong I was, but I've never actually apologized to you for my actions... So... Well, I guess I'm just trying to say... I'm sorry."

Hermione looked at him closely and finally decided that he was sincere. "Thanks, Draco. I do appreciate you telling me that. I guess we all had ideas that were off back then. Like the belief that all Sytherins were evil, and that all purebloods were bigoted pricks. I know now those things are far from the truth. So I accept your apology, and I'm sorry as well for some things I said and did when we were growing up. If we'd all been a little more open minded things might have been different. I might have made friends with Pansy much earlier, or got to know you better back then. I just hope it will be a better world for Orrie to grow up in."

Just then Orrie dashed into the dining room, jumping up and down at Draco's feet, begging to be lifted up. "Fanks for Maffoy Bear, Dwago," she lisped as she kissed his cheek.

"You're most welcome, sunshine," Draco replied giving her a quick hug as he brushed a kiss across her cheek. "Severus and I have to go now, Orrie. You have a happy Christmas, okay?"

Orrie turned in his arms and Draco went to pass her back to Hermione. In the split second before Hermione reached out to take her, both their faces were framed together in her field of vision. Hermione froze, and time seemed to stop. The uneasy feeling that she'd had at the Potter's party when she saw Draco and Orrie together hit her full force and she knew instantly what had bothered her so much; they had the exact same eyes. Hermione had always known that Orrie strongly resembled Lisa: she had her mum's dark curly hair, and her cupids bow mouth, and that cute little button nose. But those gorgeous silvery grey-blue eyes were not Lisa's eyes at all. Lisa's eyes had been hazel. So Hermione had always assumed that Orrie had her father's eyes. And seeing Draco and Orrie together she could now see that the shape of her face and that pointy little chin weren't Lisa's either. Oh, dear gods and little fishes! Was it possible? Was Draco Malfoy Orrie's father?

Hermione swayed and might have actually stumbled if Severus hadn't grabbed her arm to support her. "Are you all right?" he asked, concern in his voice.

"Umm... yes. I think I must have just stood up too fast. I'll be fine. Thank you, Severus." Holding out her arms, she gathered Orrie close and hugged her tightly for a moment before the little girl squirmed in protest.

"Mummy, you's squeezin' me too much."

"Sorry, sweetie. Tell Severus and Draco goodbye now." As Orrie complied, Hermione added, "Thank you again for bringing her gifts. It was very kind of you. Happy Christmas to you both."

After the two left, Orrie ran off to play with Malfoy Bear while Hermione leaned heavily against the door. Her mind was whirling like a cyclone. Could no one else see the resemblance? Was she imagining it? Was it possible that Draco had somehow been with Lisa? She was older by what—about eight years? Draco would have been twenty-one, Lisa twenty-nine—so it wasn't totally outside the realm of possibility. Maybe she was delusional. No one else, neither Harry nor Pansy nor Snape had commented on the resemblance. Surely Pansy would have noticed, wouldn't she? She and Draco were best friends, their relationship very similar to Hermione and Harry's. Hermione took several deep breaths to calm herself down and then decided to push the issue to the back of her mind. Even if it were true, Draco obviously had no idea. She had promised herself that she would make Orrie's first holiday season with her special, so she would concentrate on that for now and try to hold on to her sanity.

* * *

_December, 31, 2004_

Lucius stood by himself in a dimly lit corner of the room, sipping a glass of Ogdens finest and wondering when was the earliest he could make his polite excuses to his hosts and slip away. He was here under duress; Draco and Severus had practically ordered him at wandpoint to get out of the Manor for the night and attend the New Years Eve party hosted by the Parkinsons. The truth of the matter was Lucius had turned into a bit of a recluse after the war. That was another difference of opinion that he'd had with Narcissa; she wanted to re-establish their place in wizarding society and Lucius just didn't give a flying fuck about any of it. He was content to spend his days managing the Malfoy investments, lazing about his library at the Manor, wandering about the estate, and sharing the occasional evening out with Severus or Draco.

But still he'd come tonight to appease his son. Draco had invited the lovely French beauty, Miss Gabriel Delacour, younger sister to Fleur, the one time Tri-Wizard Champion. Severus had arrived with not one but two lovely Brazilian witches, cousins, one of whom Severus had brought for Lucius. Since he'd politely declined, however, Severus simply kept them both. Lucius smiled to himself at the thought of the new Severus. He was certainly making up for lost time by taking advantage of his new image as, the dark, sexy, war-hero. He'd turned into the quintessential playwizard. He never lacked for female companionship these days, and thus far showed no inclination to settle down with just one witch. Lucius couldn't help but wonder, though, if is old friend were truly happy or merely going through the motions with his long string of meaningless attachments.

There had been an uncomfortable incident earlier in the evening with Edward Nott. The man, who was clearly deeply in his cups, had started spouting off about the advice Lucius had given him on the night of the Dark Lord's return and how it had saved his life. He was sloppy, maudlin, and loud. With a nod to each other, Lucius and Severus each took an arm and escorted him from the room before he could cause even more of a scene. Knowing that he would be unsafe to Apparate in his condition, Lucius stayed with him in the garden, talking seriously in low tones, while Severus went to get Edward's son to come and escort him home. It had been a most awkward situation with Nott blathering on about the the night of the Dark Lord's return while in the midst of a social event hosted by the Mother-in-law of Harry Potter.

And thus the evening ended with more of a whimper than a bang as far a Lucius was concerned. He located the Parkinsons, thanked them for their hospitality, and beat a hasty retreat long before the festive crowd was ringing in the New Year. He even managed to avoid Draco, who most likely would have tried to make him stay on and socialize until the end of the evening.

Lucius was content to return to the Manor and carry out his original plan, which was to prop his feet up before the fire, as he nursed a rather nice single malt, and wallowed in a bit of self pity. Nott's outburst at the party had brought to mind memories of that fateful night. He'd managed to get himself and his family through the war by taking his own advise: stay on the fringes, do as little as possible, make up useless tasks to look involved while letting others do the Dark Lord's dirty work. He couldn't help but wonder though, if fate wasn't paying him back now for all of those times he'd stood by and done nothing as he'd watched innocents tortured and worse. People like Elise's family, the Lovegood girl and Olivander, Potter's friend Granger, and so many countless others.

* * *

"Hey, Draco, I've been looking for your dad. I wanted to thank him for stepping in earlier to stop Theo's dad from making a big scene. Do you know where he's got to?" asked Pansy, her eyes searching the perimeter of the room for another shock of platinum blond.

"No I don't. I've been looking for him myself, but I suspect that he may have already left. He really didn't want to come tonight in the first place, Severus and I sort of coerced him, and having Nott bring up those stories about the night you-know-who returned only made things worse," replied Draco with a grimace.

"Well, I really appreciated his and Snape's quick actions. I was afraid for a moment Harry and Ron were going to step in and that would have been more than awkward. In a mixed crowd like this, bringing up the night of you-know-who's return is not really the thing to do. If you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I do," replied Draco. "Hey, speaking of the Golden Trio, where's their third? I thought you said Granger was coming tonight. I haven't seen her anywhere."

"She was going to, but she owled me earlier to say that Orrie's coming down with the sniffles and she decided to stay home with her."

"What? Sunshine's ill? Has Granger called a Healer? We keep Healer Mumford on retainer, I could send her over if Granger needs her." Draco said, with a look of concern on his face. "Or Severus could send pediatric dose of Pepper-up Potion if she needs it."

"Draco, for Merlin's sake! It's just the sniffles, and Hermione is certainly capable of brewing anything Orrie needs in the proper dosage. Potions is one of her specialties, after all."

"You're right, of course. I'm just overreacting, I'm sure. She's such a cute little nipper." Draco paused for a moment before continuing. "It's really something for Granger to take on that kind of responsibility. I'd hate to be caught saying anything nice about a Gryff; and if you tell anyone else, I'll deny it, but I admire her for adopting Orrie."

Pansy shrugged. "It's lucky for Orrie that she has Hermione. From what I've been told, Lisa had no other family, they died during the war. Even if she had, they'd have been Muggles, and she wanted Orrie to grow up in a Magical household. Lisa, was a good friend of Hermione's, although none of us here had ever met her. She lived very near to Hermione's parents. But I knew about her being Orrie's godmother. Hermione was always showing us pictures of her and such. She was very proud of her.

"Orrie is such an odd name for a little girl. Don't you think so? Is it of Muggle origin?" asked Draco, curiously.

"It's a nickname, actually. Her full name is such a mouthful, it's no wonder they decided to shorten it from Oreliandra Michellinda," explained Pansy with a chuckle. "I'd never heard the name Oreliandra myself, the closest was your grandmother Malfoy's name, Orelia. I remember her from coming to the Manor as a toddler to play with you. She was such a scary witch."

"Yes, she was," agreed Draco. He had a strange look on his face as he added, "That's really odd though. Although everyone called her Orelia, her given name was Oreliandra. Isn't that a strange coincidence?"

Pansy's eyes got huge as she recalled what Hermione had told her about Orrie's real name. She gulped before trying to speak. "Yes... I... I guess it really is. Ummm... " Pansy paused before she recovered and continued more smoothly. "Perhaps Lisa read the name somewhere when she was younger, in the society pages perhaps, and just really liked it. You know how young girls are; I myself have always imagined Rose for a little girl's name. Maybe Lisa simply fell in love with the name Oreliandra."

As Draco nodded, Pansy quickly made her excuses that she needed to go rescue Harry from her Uncle Alvie, before he talked Harry's ear off. She wondered as she walked away if she should pop over to Hermione's right away, but decided that it would do no harm to wait until the next day.

* * *

Hermione had just put Orrie down for her nap and sat down to have a cup of tea when the Floo flared to life and Hermione bid Pansy to come through. Hermione summoned an extra cup and poured her friend some tea. Hermione could sense that something was wrong. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes then both tried to talk at the same time.

"Pans..."

"Hermione..."

Both stopped and looked at the other before giggling. "You go first Pansy, you're the guest."

"Well, this is a bit awkward, Hermione. I don't know quite how to tell you this," began Pansy, "it's about Orrie. I was talking to Draco at the party last night and—"

"Oh, good Godric," Hermione interrupted her, looking relieved. "You've figured it out."

Pansy's brow furrowed. "Figured what out?"

"About Orrie's connection to Malfoy," responded Hermione.

Pansy's mouth fell open in shock. "You mean you knew?"

Hermione shook her head. "Not for sure, but I suspected. My first inkling was at your holiday party. When Draco was holding Orrie something struck me as odd, but I couldn't quite figure it out. Then when he and Severus stopped by last week, it hit me like a pile of bricks. The resemblance is unmistakable, but I couldn't believe no one else had noticed. So, I tried to convince myself I was imagining it. But now you've seen it too—"

"Hermione, wait... I'm confused. What are you talking about?"

"Orrie's resemblance to Draco. They have the exact same eyes and when you look closer—the shape of her face and her chin—they're Draco's. I don't know how he and Lisa could have got together, but I'm almost sure that Draco is Orrie's father."

Pansy slumped in her chair and buried her face in her hands, shaking her head.

"Pansy, what is it?" asked Hermione, grabbing Pansy's wrist to pull her hand away. "What?"

"You're right about the resemblance. I honestly never noticed, but now that you've pointed it out, it's quite obvious. But, sweetie, those aren't strictly Draco's features. The eyes, the chin, the shape of her face, that haughty little glare she can give you when... Hermione, they're Malfoy traits."

Hermione stared blankly for about five seconds before the light bulb went off, then all the color drained from her face. "Lucius!"

Pansy nodded grimly.

"How do you know this? How can you be sure it isn't Draco?"

Pansy quickly explained about her conversation with Draco. "Hermione, I'm sorry I never made the connection. Draco's grandmother was always called Orelia, but when we were talking he confirmed that her first name was actually Oreliandra. I remembered a long time ago you told me Lisa said that she had named Orrie after both of her grandmothers and your mother. Michelle and Linda for her mother and your mum, and obviously Oreliandra for the father's mother. If Draco were her dad, Orrie's name would be Narcissa."

"You're right... of course... you're right, Pansy. Oh, my dear goddess. How is this possible? Lucius?"

The two sat in complete silence for a minute before Hermione muttered, "Lucius. I just can't believe it. The bastard probably forced himself on her."

Pansy snorted and looked at her friend in disbelief. "Hermione, be realistic. Look, he may be a lot of things, but Lucius is no rapist. Lisa obviously cared for him, or she wouldn't have given Orrie his mother's name. A woman who was raped would certainly not name her child with a family name of her rapist."

"You're right again. I'm just not thinking straight. Still, the thought of Lucius being Orrie's father is just too horrifying to consider."

Pansy shook her head slightly and looked at her friend sadly. "He's not that bad, Hermione."

"Not that bad?" asked Hermione in disbelief.

"I grew up knowing a different Lucius Malfoy than the man you recall. A man who loved his son and would do whatever was necessary to keep his family safe. Consider that sometimes people do things they don't want to do to protect what's important to them. Think about what kind of extremes you would go to to keep Orrie safe, it puts it all in a new perspective. I know I would do just about anything for Rose and Harry. A lot of purebloods were in that position when Voldemort returned. I know you don't like Lucius, and perhaps with good reason—"

"Perhaps? Perhaps? Do you think maybe so," Hermione demanded angrily. "Pansy, the man stood by as I was tortured by his sister-in-law on the floor of his drawing room. And do you know what his main concern was after she'd Crucio'd me so long that I'd pissed myself and puked all over? When she decided to have a go at me with her dagger? I can still hear his words in my head._ 'Bella please. That's a very expensive carpet, the house elves will be hard pressed to get the stench of urine and vomit out and now you want to add blood to the mix? Have a little consideration, won't you?'_ That is the Lucius Malfoy that I recall, Pansy. A man who was more concerned about his fucking carpet than a young girl's life."

With a sob Hermione crossed her arms on the table and laid her head down. After a moment Pansy reached over to stroke her hair. "Oh, Hermione. I'm so sorry, love. I had no idea," she whispered, tears in her voice. "Harry doesn't like to talk about those times. I'd heard rumors that you had been tortured, but honestly, love... I really had no idea."

Hermione laid quietly for several minutes as Pansy continued to stroke her hair and back. "Harry and Ron were locked up downstairs. I never told them the details, I never told anyone." Hermione sat up and wiped her face with a napkin, then blew her nose on it. She turned to her friend. "I'm sorry for going off on you, Pansy. Like Harry, I really try not to think about those times, but talking about Lucius brought it all back to me."

Pansy reached out and squeezed her hand. After a moment she asked, "Hermione, please don't think I'm being nosy, or flippant, but what happened then?" Hermione looked at her blankly. "After Lucius said those things, what did Bella do then? Did she use the knife? Did she keep cursing you?"

Hermione frowned. "No. She stopped."

Pansy gave Hermione a look as she shrugged her shoulders and her eyebrows at the same time.

"Wait," responded Hermione in disbelief. "You don't honestly expect me to believe that Lucius said that stuff intentionally, to get her to stop. You're mad, Parkinson."

"Maybe, maybe not. But I don't think she would have stopped if he'd said something like—'_Bella, dear, please stop torturing Miss Granger on my drawing room floor, and put away that dagger while you're at it._'" Hermione snorted at Pansy's pitch perfect imitation of Lucius. "It's something to think about, love."

Hermione just shook her head. "I repeat... you're mad. Not just mad... barking mad."

After a moment, Hermione commented, "You know something though, Pansy? I think the fact that it's Lucius and not Draco that's Orrie's dad is a good thing for me. Draco actually cares for Orrie, and if he were her dad, he'd try to take her away from me. But Lucius is never in a million years going to publicly claim a halfblood child, therefore, I have nothing to worry about."

* * *

Two days later Hermione answered a knock on her front door. Expecting it to be Severus, she opened the door without even checking.

Lucius Malfoy pushed past her to enter her cottage. "Miss Granger, I believe you have my daughter."

TBC


	4. Chapter 3

A Gift of Love

Chapter 3

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own HP, I make no money from this work.

A/N: Many thanks go to my lovely helpers, my beta and Brit-picker: talesofsnape, and my alpha: morethansirius, their help and input were invaluable.

* * *

Hermione looked on in shocked dismay as Lucius pushed his way into her home. She stood in frozen horror for a moment before she could react to his invasion. She snapped her wand into her hand at the same time she grabbed at his sleeve with the other, halting his progress. "What in hell do you think you're doing, Malfoy? Get out of my house!"

"I've figured out your little secret, Granger," he snarled, his normally handsome face twisted in hateful anger. "You have my daughter, and I want to see her. Where is Oreliandra?"

She gave him a little shove back and pointed her wand at him. "_My_ daughter goes by Orrie and she is not here right now, not that it is any business of yours."

"It is my business, and I can tell just by the look on your face that you know it's the truth. Where is Elise and why in Merlin's name would she give our daughter to you?"

The question puzzled Hermione brought her to a stand still. "Who in hell is Elise?"

Lucius looked wildly around the room for a moment as if expecting to find this woman hiding in a corner somewhere. Then his eyes alighted on a photo on the mantle and he pulled loose of Hermione's hold and strode forward, grabbing the Muggle photo of Lisa and Orrie taken early the past summer. He studied it briefly, his thumb brushing almost tenderly over both of their faces before he turned and waved it in front of Hermione's face.

"This! This is Elise. Orelian... Orrie's mother. Elise Desmond, my former mistress. When she left me three years ago, I had no idea there was a child. Where is she now? I must speak with her," he demanded imperiously.

Hermione stared at him in shock. "Oh, fuck," she muttered under her breath as she sank, none too gently, onto a chair by the fireplace. He eyed her sharply at the profanity. Looking up at him, she swallowed hard before speaking. "Sit, Mr. Malfoy. Please." He looked for a moment as if he would object, but then he sat in the chair opposite her and glared at her angrily.

Hermione hardly knew what to say. She pointed at the photo. "You're right of course. That is Orrie's mum, but the woman you call Elise... I knew her as Lisa Kelly, a Muggleborn witch. She was a very close friend of my parents and also of mine. I'm so sorry to have to tell you this, sir..."

His face drained of color and she saw the understanding blossom in his eyes before he closed off his emotions. "She _was_ a close friend. Past tense. What happened to her?"

Hermione bit her lip, unsure how to tell him. For as much as she'd hated Lucius Malfoy herself, she could see clearly that Pansy had been right. Whatever had been between Lisa and him, he had obviously cared for her. "Mr. Malfoy... Lucius, I am very sorry. Lisa died in an accident this past summer, just a few weeks after that picture was taken."

He stared down at the photo for moment, his thumb again caressing her face before speaking, his voice slightly rough. "She's dead?" His voice revealed his disbelief. "After searching for her all this time... " He stood and walked to the window staring out, his back to her, the picture frame clutched in his hand.

Hermione didn't know what to say. She could recognize his grief and knew it was genuine, no matter that he tried to hide it from her. She felt sadness and pity for him. That was short lived, however, when he turned to her and demanded. "I want my daughter. She should be with me."

She looked at him in shock. "Ahh... No," she stated bluntly.

"No? You have no right. She is my daughter, my natural child, my blood. She is a Malfoy and she belongs with her family."

"No right? How dare you! I have every right. I am her family. She is my daughter, perhaps not by blood, but here in my heart," Hermione fist closed over her chest. "She is mine. Whatever Lisa... Elise was to you, or you to her, it obviously wasn't enough. There was no mention of you in her will whatsoever, either as Orrie's father or as her guardian. She didn't even speak of the past or of Orrie's father. Ever. She made me her daughter's guardian and requested that I formally adopt her. I have known her since she was born. I was her godmother and I love her with all my heart. I don't care how much money and power you have, Malfoy. I will fight you to the death before I let you take her from me."

Without Hermione even being aware of how it happened, her wand was clutched in her hand and was pointed directly at him. A voice snapped from the doorway, "What in all Hades is going on here?"

They both turned. In the open doorway stood Severus Snape. "The door was ajar. Granger, for goddess' sake, put your wand down. Lucius, what in hell are you doing here?"

"No," replied Hermione sharply. "You're friends with him. For all I know you're here to help him."

"No... I'm here because we had an appointment to work on our project, if you will recall." He explained patiently as if speaking to a first year. "What is going on here? What is it you think I'm here to help Lucius do exactly?"

"He's trying to take Orrie away from me," she said, as Lucius spoke at the same time.

"Did you know, Severus? Did you know and not tell me?"

"Take Orrie? Know what? Will someone tell me what the bloody hell is going on in this madhouse?" demanded Severus.

"That child is Elise's," declared Lucius. "She is my daughter."

Hermione had never seen Severus Snape rendered speechless. He looked from one to the other in disbelief before he repeated her earlier expletive. "Oh fuck." Turning to Lucius, he said, "But you were sure that the baby would have been a boy."

"And so I thought. There hasn't been a girl born to the Malfoy line in over three hundred years. Obviously I was wrong."

Hermione still stood wand in hand, her eyes darting nervously from one man to the other. Dear Merlin, they were both former top ranking Death Eaters. She didn't stand a chance if they ganged up on her. Severus took a step toward her slowly, palms raised, as one might approach a skittish unicorn. He said calmly, "Granger... Hermione. Put your wand away. Lucius isn't going to do anything rash, I promise."

She swallowed and stared at Severus with a frightened look on her face. "You're his friend," she repeated. "You are going to be on his side."

"No. No, I won't. I'll be on Orrie's side, no matter what. I promise you that," Severus assured her in a surprisingly gentle voice.

Hermione swallowed convulsively, nearly choking, but finally nodded and lowered her wand. At that very instant the fireplace flared green and expanded to let through first Pansy with Orrie in her arms, followed quickly by Draco.

"Hi!" Pansy greeted Hermione with a smile which quickly disappeared when she saw the look on Hermione's face. "What's wrong?" Following Hermione's eyes, Pansy looked toward the window and saw Lucius. "Oh, shit!" she swore viciously.

"Oh, shit!" repeated Orrie in delight, clapping her hands. "Shit, shitty, shit!"

Draco smothered a laugh as Hermione covered her face with her hand and closed her eyes. When she opened them she couldn't help but look at Lucius who was devouring Orrie with his eyes. If she wasn't scared to death, his hungry, yearning look would have broken her heart.

"Orrie," scolded Severus quietly.

The little girl hadn't noticed him at first and her face now broke into a huge grin. "Sev'wus! You wead ta me, Sev'wus?" Glancing at her mum, for good measure, she added, "Pweeease?"

Severus nodded with the tiny lopsided smile he saved just for Orrie. "Yes, poppet, I will, but not just yet. I need to talk to your mummy for a bit, so Aunt Pansy's going to take you upstairs to your room. Okay?"

Pansy looked between Hermione and Lucius and immediately handed Orrie to Draco. "There's no way in hell that I'm leaving Hermione down here on her own," she muttered softly, clasping Hermione's shoulder in support. "You take her, Draco."

Orrie wrapped Draco's neck in a tight hug. Draco looked confused. "I don't get it, what's going on? Father? Why are you here?"

"Just do as Severus asks, son. I'll explain it all later," said Lucius with a sigh.

Draco shrugged and turned toward the stairs. "Come on, sunshine. Just like usual the grown-ups never tell us kids anything. Let's go up. You and I and Malfoy bear will have a tea party with Eunice the unicorn and Brian the blast ended skrewt."

Orrie giggled. "You make 'em dance, Dwago?"

"Sure, kiddo, they'll dance all the way around the room. We'll have a regular plushie parade," he promised as they turned onto the stairs.

Clearing his throat Severus said softly, "Very well. Now, I suggest we all sit down and discuss things rationally."

"And just how do you expect me to behave rationally, Severus?" snapped Hermione in anger. "When Malfoy, here, forced his way into my home, demanding to see Orrie. And just now, he threatened to take her away from me," Hermione burst out.

"Shhh... It's going to be all right, love," said Pansy reassuringly. She squeezed Hermione's hand and draped her other arm protectively over her shoulders as she glared daggers at Lucius.

"Lucius?" Severus turned to his friend. "Have you anything to say for yourself?"

Lucius clenched his jaw so tight Hermione could practically hear his teeth cracking. He finally spoke, staring straight ahead, his face stony and cold. "Miss Granger's account is accurate, but I didn't actually come here planning to take the child away from her. I was in distress and I spoke rashly. I'd... I'd just learned what happened to Elise... That she is... gone."

Severus slumped. "Lucius, I'm sorry. In my mind I hadn't even yet associated your Elise with Granger's friend Lisa. I am very sorry for your loss. I had hoped for a much different outcome to this tale."

"So had I, Severus. So had I," said Lucius glumly.

The four sat in silence for a minute, not knowing what to say. Then Severus proceeded. "Well then, since we have established that Lucius does not intend to attempt to take Orrie from Hermione—"

"Excuse me, Severus," interrupted Hermione. "But I really don't believe we have established that at all."

Snape and Pansy both frowned and looked at Lucius. "She's right," agreed Pansy. "What he said was that he didn't _come_ here planning to take Orrie away. That doesn't mean that it isn't his plan to do so now."

"The child is mine! She is all that I have left of Elise. She is a Malfoy," hissed Lucius. "Whose side are you on, Parkinson? Where is your loyalty?"

"The name is Potter, and my loyalty belongs to my husband and my child and right now to my good friend here. More importantly, it's also with that little girl upstairs. Orrie lost everything: her mum, her home, everything she ever knew. Her world was shattered by her mother's death. Hermione took her in and gave her back a home, security, a mother's love. And just as she has started to adjust to her new life here, what you suggest would tear her world apart again. Is that really what you want to do to her?"

"Pansy is right, Lucius. No matter what you may think, Hermione loves the girl, and she is a good mother to her. Orrie loves her as well, and she feels safe here. You don't want to hurt the child like that, not really. I know you don't."

"No, of course I don't. But what am I supposed to do? Just walk away and pretend that she doesn't exist? Have nothing whatsoever to do with her?" cried Lucius. "I can't do that."

"I agree," Severus responded. "That is not a solution."

Three pairs of eyes turned to her. Hermione gulped, she felt like there were a pile of Hagrid's rock cakes in her tummy. "What?"

Pansy squeezed her hand. "Hermione, he is her father," she whispered.

"I know that," said Hermione quietly. She thought for a moment, recalling an old Muggle saying about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. "All right, I suppose I might be able to agree to supervised visitation so they could get to know each other."

"Supervised! That is preposterous," declared Lucius.

"Preposterous—really? When not even ten minutes ago you were planning to take her from me. I think not. Besides, you are a complete stranger to her. She doesn't know you from Tom Riddle."

Lucius winced at the comparison.

"Do you honestly think I'm just going to hand her over and tell her... what? 'Oh, here you go, love. Go off with this man whom you don't even know. He's your daddy, by the way. Have a good time. Bye-bye'. That is definitely not going to happen," Hermione concluded coldly.

Now three sets of eyes turned toward Lucius. He waved his hand and responded with a sniff. "Oh very well. I suppose that would be acceptable. Who do you propose would be supervising these visits then?"

"Me, of course," replied Hermione.

Lucius scowled. "So I am never to have any time with my daughter, away from you?"

Hermione thought for a moment. "Well, I suppose I would approve of Harry and Pansy," she said hesitantly.

Lucius considered then nodded. "That would be acceptable. What of Draco, she seems to like him. She would be comfortable with him."

"No," Hermione declared bluntly. "I like Draco well enough, but you are his father and he would probably be willing to do anything for you, even if it involved kidnapping."

"Well then, how about Severus?" countered Lucius.

Hermione thought about it. She looked at Severus then back to Lucius. Finally she nodded. "Yes, Severus is okay, but none of them right way. For the first several visits, I want to be with her. I need to know that she's okay." Feeling as if she were losing Orrie already, she had to blink back moisture as she spoke. She hated crying in public, and she was determined not to let Malfoy see any weakness in her.

"Fine. When can we arrange the first meeting? Tomorrow?"

"Ummm... I have several appointments scheduled for tomorrow. I'm sorry, but I really can't reschedule all of them. Could we set something up for the next day?" she asked.

His eyes narrowed, and Hermione was sure he thought she was trying to be difficult. Finally he nodded.

"When and where?"

"How about half past eleven? And we'll do it here. You can stay for lunch with us if you like."

"Here? That doesn't seem quite fair, playing in your court."

Hermione sighed and explained. "Lucius, it isn't a chess game with each of us trying to see who can outmaneuver the other. I think it would be best to meet here for the first several meetings. This is Orrie's home, where she feels most comfortable. After a while, perhaps we could consider an outing somewhere else, but not until she gets to know you better."

Pansy agreed with Hermione. "That seems like a logical plan to me."

Lucius sighed and capitulated. "All right, yes, that will be fine. Eleven thirty, here, the day after next."

"I wonder if it might be advisable for each of us to talk to our lawyers? Maybe have them draw up some kind of legal papers regarding visitation," wondered Hermione.

"Excellent plan," Lucius quickly agreed.

Severus frowned darkly. His friend seemed entirely too eager to him. He considered what Lucius might have to gain and then he shook his head. "I really don't think that would be a very good idea, Hermione."

"Why not? It seems reasonable," she asked. "Having everything spelled out in an agreeable manner to both parties sounds good."

"Think about it, Granger," he said, as if he were explaining the obvious to a particularly dense third year. "This is the wizarding world we're talking about. They are a bit backward to begin with and they do put a high store on blood ties, even now. If you draw up a sanctioned legal document, it will automatically go on file at the ministry." As his words sunk in her eyes widened. "Such a document would be seen as proof that you had acknowledged Lucius as Orrie's biological father. If at some later date this case was eventually brought before the governing body... Well, I do not believe that things would end up in your favor, as the adoptive parent."

Hermione turned to glare at Malfoy who said nothing for several long seconds. Just as she seemed about to withdraw the offer of visitation, he spoke quietly. "Miss Granger, I can see that this situation is as difficult for you as it is for me. I have no need of a legal document at this time. Let us simply go on as we had first planned. I am quite satisfied with that arrangement for now."

Hermione pursed her lips and looked at him with narrowed eyes before glancing to both Pansy and Severus. Finally she looked back to Malfoy and agreed, "Very well, Mr. Malfoy. Eleven thirty, here, the day after tomorrow."

After Lucius had left and Severus had gone up to read to Orrie, Pansy turned to Hermione and inquired, "You do understand what he actually said at the end there, don't you?"

"Oh yes, I understood very well, Pans. He said he does not need a legal agreement at this time, but that in no way precludes the fact that he might seek one in the future. He also said he is satisfied with our arrangement for now, implying that could also change in the future."

Pansy grinned. "You translate Slytherinish very well, love."

"Just know this much is true, Pansy. For my part, I swear if I ever get so much as a hint that he is trying to take Orrie away from me; we're gone. I will take her and disappear into the Muggle world so fast and so deep, no one will ever find us again."

* * *

Hermione was straightening up the living room when Lucius' knock came at her door. She glanced quickly at Orrie who was sitting on the floor with a coloring book and crayons. She was babbling to Malfoy bear who was propped up next to the couch as she scribbled happily away. With a flick of her wand Hermione threw up a warded perimeter to keep Orrie within a clear, safe area and went to answer the door.

"Orrie, Mummy has to answer the door, I'll be right back. Make sure all your art work is on the paper, not the floors or the furniture."

Opening the door, Hermione frowned as she saw Lucius outside with a whole armload of toys. Reaching out and placing her palm on his chest, she pushed him back as she stepped outside. "Lucius, what a lovely surprise to see you!" she said loudly in greeting.

"Granger, have you gone round the bend? It's precisely half past eleven, which is the time we agreed upon."

"I know that, you twit," she responded in hushed tones. "But Orrie doesn't. I want her to think you are just an old friend come round to visit, and what the hell are you doing with all of this?" she asked, waving her hands around the arms full of toys.

"They are gifts for my daughter. I wanted to bring her something."

"Okay, first, we know she's your daughter, but she doesn't, and you aren't going to go blurting it out. We will reveal that to her when we both agree that she is ready. And, secondly, I'm telling you right now, you are not giving her all of this. It looks like you've high-jacked an entire toy shop. It's overwhelming. It's too much. You can't bribe her and you can't buy her love. What were you thinking?"

Lucius looked flustered and then sheepish. "Honestly? I wanted to get her something special. Something she would really like, but I have absolutely no idea what she likes. So, I kept picking up things and adding them to the pile."

Hermione sighed. She wanted to hate the man. She really did, but his answer seemed almost endearing, a long absent father who just wanted to make a good first impression. Plus, she kept telling herself that Lisa had obviously cared for the man at one time, so he must have some redeeming qualities.

Taking a deep breath, she continued more calmly. "Well, you are not giving all of this stuff to a two year old. Pick one or two things and either send the rest back to the toy shop, save it and parcel it out to her over time, or if you're feeling particularly generous, donate them to one of the orphanages or to the children's ward at St. Mungo's."

She took a closer look at what he'd brought. "Will you'll trust my opinion?" At his curt nod, she continued, "She's too young to appreciate the porcelain dolls. They are beautiful, but she's more likely to bash their heads in than anything. Some of the games have small parts that she could choke on. Make a note of this, Lucius, for future reference. Although I know that it makes no sense to you that a child would put a game piece in her mouth, or a stone, or a squishy bug—" Lucius gagged a bit at that, but Hermione just grinned and continued. "Believe me, a toddler will put almost anything in there, so be alert whenever you are around her. She is getting better about it now, as I can at least reason with her, unlike when she was smaller. As for a gift, I would suggest one of the plushies. I'm sure she would like this giraffe or—oh my, this fox is adorable—she'd go wild for that one. And the balloon as well, she loves balloons.

"I remember on her birthday in June, Lisa brought her this big balloon. Orrie adored it." Hermione smiled fondly, but then glancing up at Lucius, she suddenly had to turn away as she was forced to blink back tears at the remembrance of her dear friend. After a moment Hermione was able to regain control of her emotions and speak, though her voice rough. "Well, as I said, I think she would love the balloon too."

After a moment of studying her expression closely Lucius nodded and asked, "What do you think about this book? Severus said she loves to be read to. I recalled that this one was a favorite of Draco's."

Taking the book, Hermione thumbed through it. It was a childrens book, but written for an older child. It was mostly words with very few illustrations. "This is a wonderful book, Lucius. I'm sure she'll love it when she's a bit older. But right now her attention span is not long enough to actually sit and follow a story. Most of the things we read to her are picture books or nursery rhymes. You should definitely keep it, though, and give it to her in a few years. She'll like knowing that it was one of her big brother's favorites."

He took the book back from her, frowning at first, but then his eyes lit up with something like hope. Her statement obviously implied that he, as well as Draco, would still be a part of Orrie's life in several years. "Very well, Miss Granger, I will accept your suggestions. Do you mind?" he asked as he handed her the fox and the balloon strings to hold onto. Then he called a Malfoy house elf. "Perky." The little elf appeared with a pop.

"Take these things back to the manor," he said, handing him the giraffe, one of the dolls, and the book. "Have the rest distributed to the local orphanages."

Hermione smiled as she handed him back his gifts and said, "I think if we are going to pretend that you are an old friend, you should be calling me Hermione. Yes?"

He shrunk the fox so that it fit into his pocket. "Yes, I will try to remember." He said her name experimentally, "Hermione." Suddenly he looked worried. "Who is watching the child? We have been out here on your doorstep a good while."

"Don't worry, I've been keeping an eye on her the whole time we stood out here. I forgot it was charmed only for me to see. Look." She waved her wand at the top half of the door and it became transparent like glass, he could see that Orrie was inside on the floor coloring. "Plus I've raised a perimeter ward about six feet around her in all directions, kind of like an invisible playpen. She could not get beyond its boundary."

"It's been a good many years since I was around a toddler. And even then, I did not have a lot to do with the day to day care of my son. I can see I have a lot to learn."

"Come," said Hermione, her hand on his arm. "I'll introduce you to her, officially this time. I know you really only got a glimpse of her the other day." Opening the door she called out, "Orrie. We have company, sweetie."

Hermione dropped the wards in the living room as Orrie got up and trotted over with Malfoy bear in one hand and one of her papers in the other. "Lookie, Mummy. For you!"

Hermione squatted down and took the paper studying it carefully. It was covered with bright yellow scribbles. "Oh, this is beautiful, love. So bright and warm, like sunshine. Is it... the sun?"

Orrie shook her head.

"Ummm... is it... a yellow flower?"

"No, Mummy," she giggled. "It's Maffoy bear!" she cried holding up the bear.

"Well, of course it is. Mummy's so silly. It's clearly Malfoy bear. Thank you so much for making this for me. I'm going to put it up where everyone can see it." She gave Orrie a big hug and heard the little girl gasp.

"Who's dat?" she asked, pointing at Lucius.

"Don't point, Orrie. It's not polite." Hermione stood and took Orrie's hand, leading her forward. "Orrie, this is our guest, Mr. Malfoy. You know our friend Draco—"

"Him's got a bloon," interrupted Orrie. She whispered loudly and pointed, only to snatch her hand back quickly when she remembered that she wasn't supposed to point.

Biting back a chuckle, Hermione rolled her eyes and continued. "Yes, he does have a balloon. And I think he may have brought it for you." Orrie clapped her hands and hopped up and down in excitement. "Now, if you'll let me finish introducing him, perhaps he will even give it to you. Okay?"

Orrie nodded quickly.

"As I was saying, this is Mr. Malfoy."

"Wike Maffoy bear?" she asked waving her bear in the air.

"Err... Yes, like Malfoy bear. But his name is Lucius. Can you say Lucius?"

"Woo-cee-us," Orrie repeated carefully.

"Close enough. Anyway, he is our friend Draco's, father."

Orrie wrinkled her nose and looked at Hermione curiously. "What's dat?"

Hermione frowned, "What's what, sweetie? Oh... What's a father?" At Orrie's nod, Hermione grimaced as she tried to think of a way to explain a relationship her little girl obviously had no experience of. "Ummm... Welll... Like Grampa, he's my father."

"No hims not! Hims is Gwampa," declared Orrie.

"Okay... maybe that was a bad example. Like Uncle Harry then. Uncle Harry is baby Rose's father...Her daddy. Lucius here, is Draco's daddy. Understand?"

Orrie nodded, and then giggled. "But Dwago's not a baby wike Wosie!" she exclaimed.

"No, he isn't," agreed Hermione. "Not now, but a long time ago he was. And Lucius is his father... his daddy." Hermione knelt down next to Orrie and turned her toward Lucius. "Lucius, I'd like to introduce my daughter, Oreliandra Michellinda Kelly Granger." At the end, for his eyes only, she mouthed the name 'Malfoy', silently.

Looking into her eyes, Lucius silently mouthed 'thank you'.

"Of course, she is much better known as Orrie."

Squatting down on his haunches, Lucius took Orrie'e tiny hand in his. Bending over it, he kissed her fingers. "I am most pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Orrie. I've heard so much about you."

Orrie giggled and pulled her hand back. "You gots a bloon," she reminded him.

"Yes, I do. Someone told me that there was a little girl who lives here who really liked balloons. Do you know where she might be?"

"It's me!" exclaimed Orrie excitedly.

"It is? Well then I suppose this must be for you," said Lucius, handing her the balloon. "I have another gift for you, if it's okay with your mum?"

Orrie turned toward Hermione for her approval. She nodded, pleased that Lucius had bothered to put on the show of asking for her permission.

Lucius pulled the little plush fox out of his pocket and enlarged it. He held it out to Orrie, who squealed in excitement and snatched it from his hands hugging it tightly.

"Mummy, look! Her is boo-tee-ful!" she said in all seriousness. She had obviously decided that the fox was girl.

"Why, yes, I do believe that is the most beautiful fox I have ever seen," declared Hermione. "What are you going to name her?"

Orrie studied the fox intensely for a moment then said, "Woo-cee, her's name is Woo-cee."

"Lucy? Are you sure?" asked Hermione, looking at Lucius with a smirk.

"Umm hmm, it's Woo-cee. I's sure."

"Okay, then. Lucy it is. Don't you have something to say to Lucius, Orrie?"

Orrie turned back to Lucius who was still crouched down and, much to his surprise, she threw her arms around his neck in a hug that nearly knocked him off balance. "Fank you, Woo-cee-us for my bloon and for Woo-cee."

"You are very welcome, poppet. I'm very happy you like them." He hugged Orrie snugly for a moment, and then gave her a kiss on top of her head. If there was a bit of moisture in his eyes when he looked up at Hermione, she pretended not to notice.

Clearing her throat, Hermione said, "I've asked Lucius to stay and have lunch with us, Orrie. Do you think you could keep him busy while I go fix it?"

Orrie happily led Lucius over to the middle of the living room and asked him to color with her as Hermione headed off to the kitchen.

* * *

Hermione took her time making lunch, wanting to give Lucius some time with Orrie. She had peeked out, several times at first, just to make sure that Orrie was comfortable with Lucius, and that Lucius wasn't having any problems. Although the toddler was a sweetheart, she could be a real handful at times, too.

Once she felt sure they were dealing well with each other, she got distracted fixing lunch. For some reason, she wanted impress him with her mummy skills, so she wanted to fix something more than leftovers. For Orrie she had prepared one of her favorites, macaroni cheese with a cup of mixed fruit and half a peanut butter and jam sandwich. For herself and Lucius she had cheated a bit by warming up some French onion soup she'd made for herself the night before. She also put together some avocado, turkey, and brie paninis. She grilled one side and had just flipped it to the other. Then she stepped to the doorway, just for a second, to call the two to lunch, only to find the living room eerily silent and completely empty.

Looking around in disbelief, Hermione's heart dropped all the way to her toes. He wouldn't do this. He just wouldn't... He couldn't, not on the very first day she had allowed him to spend time with Orrie. She'd trusted him.

Before she could fall into a complete panic, she heard soft voices and footsteps on the stairs. Lucius turned the corner of the stairs onto the landing with Orrie's hand in his. His eyes immediately took in Hermione standing in the kitchen doorway with one hand clasped over her mouth as the other clutched the edge of the doorway. There was a terrified look on her face.

"Hermione, it's alright," Lucius reassured her. "We're right here. We just went upstairs. Orrie wanted to show me her room. I'm sorry. I should have told you before we went up."

She swallowed and shook her head. Her face heated as it went from pasty white to the blush of embarrassment in one minute flat. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions so quickly. It's just that I thought you were here and then I stepped in to tell you lunch was ready, and no one was here... I thought... well, I thought—"

"Mummy, somethin' stinks!"

"Oh dear, I do believe there's something burning," said Lucius.

"Oh shit, the paninis!" she cried.

"Oh shit!" shouted Orrie with glee. "Shit, shitty, sh..."

Lucius put his finger over Orrie's lips and shook his head. "Orrie, that is a naughty word and little girls shouldn't say it."

"But Mummy said it," she said.

"Well, yes. But your mum didn't really mean to. She was upset because she'd accidentally burned our lunch, but she normally wouldn't have said that and especially not in front of you. So I don't want you to repeat it again. Do you understand?"

She stuck her bottom lip out a bit, but she nodded.

"Good girl," said Lucius, swinging her up into his arms. "Now let's go see if we can help your mum salvage lunch."

Stepping into the kitchen, there was the distinctive smell of burnt bread in the air. Hermione turned and rolled her eyes as she said, "I'll bet you didn't expect to be treated like a god, did you?"

Lucius frowned, not understanding what she was talking about at all. She laughed and explained. "Sorry, Muggle joke, I guess. Whenever my mum burned something, Dad always said she was worshiping him like a god by giving him burnt offerings."

Lucius burst out laughing. "Yes, that would be a first, having you worship me. Here, take Orrie," he said, handing her off to Hermione. "Fix her plate. Let's see what we have here."

"It's ruined. I completely charred it on the one side," she said, setting Orrie in a booster seat and sliding the chair up to the table. She served up Orrie's macaroni cheese and sandwich and poured her a glass of milk.

Lucius carefully peeled off the side of each sandwich that was completely black. He then put the unburned halves back together to make one whole panini. He cut that in half and put one half on each plate. "There, you see. No harm done really. We'll each have half a sandwich, our cup of soup...mmm French onion, how did you know it's my favorite? And perhaps Orrie will allow us to share a bit of her pasta as a side dish. A perfect lunch, my dear."

"Thank you. Lucius. You've saved the day, or at least our lunch," said Hermione with s smirk. "Would you like a glass of wine with your lunch?"

Lucius winked at Orrie as he replied, pointing at her glass. "Actually, I'll have what she's having."

"Oh, a very good choice, sir. A glass of our finest white, coming right up," teased Hermione, filling his glass with milk and one for her as well.

* * *

After they ate, Hermione explained that Orrie usually took nap after lunch. She said he was welcome to stay while she had some story time and got tucked in. As Orrie was choosing a book, Hermione asked him if he would like to read it to her, but he declined.

"If you wouldn't mind... Would it be acceptable if I just sat and watched? Merlin, that sounds rather perverted and stalkerish, but that's not how I mean it all. I'd just like to sit back and look at her for a bit. She's so beautiful, and she reminds me so much of Elise."

"It's fine, Lucius. I think I know what you mean. I see Lisa every time I look at her, but now that I know where to look—I can see you in her, too. Here," she said, handing him her newest copy of Potions Monthly. "Go sit over there and pretend you're reading. You can watch her to your heart's content."

So he did just that. He watched not just Orrie, but Granger—Hermione, as well. He could see that the things Pansy and Severus and even Draco had said were true. She was a good mother to Orrie, and her obvious love for the child shone through. In the five short months since Elise had died, his daughter had also become Hermione Granger's daughter. It was clear that she had totally transformed her life and it now revolved around this child. It complicated things.

Lucius could see that his original plan to lull her into a sense of security and then take the child from her legally simply was not going to work. Not only would it hurt Hermione, which didn't really matter to him, or at least that's what he told himself, but it would totally devastate Orrie, and that was unacceptable. He had to admit, it was also clear that Hermione had cared for Elise as well. She had been a good and true friend to Elise at a time when she had needed a friend desperately. So even if his daughter were not affected in the least, it would be like a betrayal of Elise all over again. He just couldn't do it. No, as far as his future with Orrie were concerned, he would have to work something out with Granger—Hermione, that was acceptable to both of them.

Orrie's giggle caught his attention. He looked up from the page of the potions journal he was pretending to read, and Hermione caught his gaze. She smiled at him as she finished reciting the silly rhymes in the book to Orrie. Hermione set the book aside, rocking her daughter and humming for several minutes as Orrie's eyes finally closed and she drifted off to sleep.

Hermione whispered, "I'm going to take her up and tuck her in. Would you mind waiting? I have some things for you."

He nodded and offered to carry Orrie for her, but she shook her head, saying that passing her back and forth might wake her up. While he waited for her to return, he wandered around the room. She had photos in frames scattered everywhere. Some were wizarding photos that smiled and waved and some were Muggle photos. Her and an older couple who he assumed were her parents. Two much older couples, probably grandparents. Several of the trio together, of varying ages throughout their Hogwarts years. One of her and Viktor Krum from the Yule Ball the year of the Tri-Wizard Tournament—what a god-awful year that had been. And another one with Krum and Hermione, that appeared more recent. He wondered when that had been taken. One at what had to be the Weasleys' home, the photo was full of gingers. One taken at Potter and Parkinson's wedding. Many photos of Orrie were scattered about. He came back to the one on the mantle he had focused on two days ago, the one of Elise and Orrie. Then he noticed another one just to the side with the two of them and Hermione as well.

"Those two were taken on the same day," she said. He hadn't heard her come in, but she stood right behind him.

"I thought as much. They have the same clothes on as in the first picture. They don't move. They're both Muggle photos."

"Yes, my mum took both of them. It was on Orrie's birthday," she explained. Then she asked as she noticed the pained look on his face. "What's wrong?"

"I don't even know the date of my daughter's birth," he said.

"Oh, Lucius. I'm sorry. It's June twelfth. Here, I said I had something for you. Perhaps these will help," she said as she went to her desk in the corner of the room and returned with a box about one foot square. "Come. Sit here. I'll show you."

She sat on the sofa and patted the seat next to her, putting the box on the coffee table. Reaching in, she pulled out a scrapbook with a quilted pink cover. "This is a copy of Orrie's baby book. Lisa made it and kept mementos from her first year. This isn't the original. I kept that for Orrie to have someday, but I made an exact copy of it for you, and there are copies of other photo albums dating from the time Lisa moved to Ireland, and..." She lifted out a framed picture. It was the same one that sat on her mantle of Elise and Orrie. The one he'd been looking at. "I thought you might like a copy of this one for yourself. You could put it on your desk or mantle at home, if you like." She rubbed her thumb tenderly over Elise's face, much as he had done.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you being nice to me? I don't understand you," he said, his voice sharp, sounding almost angry. "You hate me."

Hermione looked up at him, her eyes huge. "I thought I did, but I realized that I don't know you, not really. Not who you are now, at least. I hated that man who hit Mr. Weasley in Flourish and Blotts, and the one who put Tom Riddle's diary in Ginny's cauldron, and the one at the Quidditch World Cup, who looked at me as if I were something filthy. Or most of all the one who stood and watched as I was tortured in his home and did nothing that I could see to stop it. But you're not that man anymore, and maybe you never were. Maybe he was an illusion. Something Pansy said when we finally figured out who Orrie's father was has stayed with me."

"What was it she said?" he asked quietly, surprised that the Parkinson girl had bothered to defend him at all. She hadn't seemed too fond of him the other night. If looks could kill, he'd have been dead then and there.

"I was appalled at the idea that you might be Orrie's father. Horrified. But Pansy remembered a different Lucius Malfoy from the one I know. She recalled a man who loved his son and would go to any length necessary to protect his family. She told me that a lot of purebloods were in that position after Voldemort's return. She asked me to consider that sometimes people might do things they don't want to do, to protect those who are important to them. And she told me to think about what kind of extremes I might go to, in order to keep Orrie safe. I swear I think I'd kill anyone who tried to harm her. It sort of put things in a different perspective for me.

"So I've decided, for the time being, to take a wait and see attitude. I don't hate you, Lucius, but I'm not sure that I like you. I can tell by your reactions that you did care about Lisa and it's also clear to me that she cared deeply for you in spite of the fact that she left you. Pansy also pointed out that a woman doesn't name her child after the father's mother if she hates him." Hermione looked down at the picture of Lisa and Orrie, gently touching her friend's face again. "Lisa was an intelligent woman. She must have seen something in you worthy of redemption. I guess for now, unless you prove otherwise, I'll have to trust her judgment."

TBC


	5. Chapter 4

A Gift of Love

Chapter 4

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own HP, I make no money from this work.

A/N: Many thanks go to my lovely helpers, my beta and Brit-picker: talesofsnape, and my alpha: morethansirius, their help and input were invaluable.

* * *

Lucius accepted the pictures and scrap books with an uneasy gratitude. He truly did appreciate the gifts. They were irreplaceable memories of his daughter's first years, but he was reluctant to be beholden for the favor, especially to Hermione Granger. Still, he owled her the next day to send a formal thank you. It was the proper thing to do, after all.

They had tentatively set up a visit for Sunday afternoon. Hermione had come up with the idea. She pointed out that Orrie adored Severus and Hermione had learned that Sunday was his birthday. She suggested that they have a small dinner that day to celebrate. Orrie would love doing something special for Severus, and it wouldn't seem odd that Lucius was there again as he would be part of the group.

Lucius frowned. "As far as I know Severus doesn't usually celebrate his birthday. If he does, he does so in private. I'm not at all sure he will be willing to go along with this idea."

"That's why _you_ are going to be the one to convince him. Tell him it's for Orrie, although he wouldn't admit it, he adores her and would probably do anything for her. Or, you can blame it on me if you like. You can say I already mentioned the idea and she is all excited about it, or tell him you want to see her again and I'm being a bitch and that I'll only let you see her again right away if we do this group thing. We could invite all her favorite Slytherins: you, Severus, Draco, Pansy, Harry and little Rose too, of course."

"Potter is not a Slytherin," declared Lucius, "but you, I'm not so sure of. Some of your suggestions are definitely on the Slytherin side, cunning and resourceful."

"Let's face it. The truth of the matter is that all of the houses have admirable qualities. I believe that nearly every student has some little bit of the characteristics of each house. I honestly think I could have fitted well in any of the houses: I have the loyalty of Hufflepuff, the intelligence of Ravenclaw, the resourcefulness of Slytherin, and the boldness of Gryffindor. The very same could be said of you, Lucius.

"As far as Harry goes, although not many people know it, the Sorting Hat did suggest Slytherin for him, but he asked for asked for Gryffindor. He wanted to be in the house of his parents."

Lucius shuddered. "Now there's a scary picture, the boy-who-lived a Slytherin."

Hermione grinned at the mental image. "Well, at any rate, I don't want this thing this weekend to turn into some kind of huge gala, just a small friendly gathering. What do you think? Can you convince Severus?"

"He'll be here," stated Lucius bluntly. "I'll make sure of it."

Hermione suddenly got a case of the wobbles. "Well... If he really, really hates the idea, though, don't force the issue. We'll work something else out. I don't want to ruin his birthday."

Hermione hesitated briefly then turned back toward him. "You know what? It's probably a really stupid idea. I'm sure you're right, he would much rather make his own plans. He likely has already made a date with his current bimbo of the week. Let's just forget about it. We'll plan something else for your next visit with Orrie."

She looked flustered. Lucius couldn't quite figure out what was going through the witch's mind. The comment she'd made about Severus' bimbos almost sounded like jealousy... Oh, wait, was that it? Was she attracted to Severus? What if she was? Would that be a bad thing? After all, with Granger being Orrie's adoptive mum there would always be the chance she might meet a man and want to settle down someday. How would he feel about having some other man taking part in raising his daughter. Still, if she and Severus got together that would be perfect for Lucius, as there was no one he trusted more than Severus. It was something to think about, and perhaps he could even promote the association.

"No, it's a fine idea. After all, it wouldn't kill Severus to spend the day with friends, people who actually care about him. I'll figure out a way to get him here, and I'll tell Draco. Perhaps I will have him help me find a way to coerce Severus into accepting."

She looked uncertain, but she nodded. "All right, if you're sure it isn't a horrible idea."

"No, not at all. Floo me with the particulars by the end of the week. I'll make sure the birthday boy arrives, and I'll even provide wine for dinner."

* * *

Hermione continued to worry for the rest of the week that it was all a really bad idea. She Floo called Lucius two days later on Friday, to tell him to forget the whole thing. He informed her that it was already too late as he had invited Draco and Severus and both were agreeable.

"Agreeable? Really? That seems rather uncharacteristic for Severus, don't you think?" she asked.

"Well, I may have used part of one of your ideas to convince him," admitted Lucius.

"Which part? The part where Orrie is all excited about it and would be disappointed if he didn't come, or the part where I'm a total bitch for insisting on doing the group meeting thing?" Hermione asked with a chuckle.

A combination of them both, actually. I merely said that you had suggested that my being present at a get together with other people that Orrie was already fond of would be a good way for her to accept me. There was no reference to anyone being a bitch, I assure you," replied Lucius.

"No reference made, but strongly implied, right?" suggested Hermione slyly.

"Not at all. However if you wish me to, I'm sure that could be arranged."

"No, thank you. As long as he's accepted, we'll just go with it. I'd planned to have dinner around two since it's Sunday, but then I realized that is right in the middle of Orrie's nap-time. If she doesn't get her nap, she will be miserable and will make sure the rest of us are, too. So for the sake of everyone's sanity, I think we'll plan it a bit later. How about five-thirty, but come earlier, maybe around three, so you can all spend time with Orrie. That is the main reason for this gathering, anyway."

"Sounds good. What do you plan to serve for dinner? I'll choose an appropriate wine."

"Nothing fancy, I thought I'd just make roast beef and veggies. Pansy volunteered to bring dessert, but don't worry. I made her promise nothing blatantly Birthday-ish."

"Very well, we'll see you on Sunday at three."

The get together on Sunday went much better that Hermione would have expected. Even though it had been her idea originally she couldn't help but imagine all the ways things could go wrong. Having Pansy and Harry with little Rose helped Hermione cope, by providing a buffer. Even though she joked about being surrounded by Orrie's nest of vipers, she couldn't help but feel overwhelmed and outnumbered by the very Slytheriness of it when they were gathered all together.

The Potters arrived a bit earlier than the others and Harry took charge of his two favorite little girls, while Pansy helped Hermione get everything together in the kitchen. As promised, Pansy had brought dessert, a big pan of sticky toffee pudding. She claimed to remember from their Hogwarts days that it had been a favorite of Snape's. They had just slid the roast and veggies into the oven when the knock came at the door.

In the living room, Orrie jumped up and ran for the door. "Unca Ha-wee, open up! Open the door!"

"Hold on a second, lovey. I'm coming. Let me grab Rosie" said Harry as he gathered up the baby from the blanket on the floor where they'd been playing.

Hermione and Pansy were standing in the archway of the dining room watching Orrie have a fit of impatience. She stomped her foot and yelled at the door, "Open up, door!"

And it did. It unlocked itself and swung wide open for Orrie to happily greet her guests.

"Sev'wus! Happy Birfday, Sev'was!" Orried cried, running to him, dancing from one foot to the other in her excitement, arms raised for him to pick her up. Which, of course, he did.

"Thank you, poppet," replied Severus seriously, giving the little girl a hug. He then looked up at the three adults in the room, who looked as though they'd been Confunded. "What on earth is wrong with you three?" he asked.

Harry stood frozen in the middle of the room, one arm wrapped around Rose who was balanced on his hip. Pansy stood in doorway to the dining room just staring, her eyes huge. Hermione looked shocked and slightly ill.

"What in Merlin's name is wrong?" asked Lucius.

Finally Harry found his voice. "Did one of you unlock and open the door from the other side?"

"Potter, why would we break into Granger's home when we were invited here? That would be quite rude," declared Draco.

"Spontaneous magic," muttered Pansy.

Hermione covered her face with both hands and moaned, "Oh shit!"

"Did you burn dinner, Mummy?" asked Orrie wide-eyed. "You's not sposed to say Shit, you know. Woo-cee-us telled me that. Shit is a baaaad word. Huh, Woo-cee-us? Isn't shit a bad word?"

"Lucius is right, sweetheart. It is a bad word. I'm sorry. I'll try to remember not to say it anymore," Hermione said quickly. She looked as if she were about to burst into tears. "Ummm, welcome, everyone. I guess I'd better check on that roast."

* * *

As Hermione hurried from the room, Orrie turned to Severus. Her lip quivered slightly as she asked sadly, "Is Mummy mad at me? Did my do somethin' bad?"

"No, of course not, Orrie," replied Severus. "You did nothing wrong."

"She was just surprised, sweetie. That's all," said Pansy. Then, to distract the little girl, she changed the subject. "Why don't you show Severus and Draco that pretty little fox that Lucius gave you?"

Harry tried to pass Rose to Pansy, saying he wanted to check on Hermione, but Lucius interrupted. "Let me go talk to her."

Harry looked like he wanted to object, but Pansy shook her head and pulled him into the living room with the others.

Lucius entered the kitchen to find Hermione sitting on a chair, her face buried in her hands. She jumped when he laid his hand on her shoulder. "Hermione?"

She quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks with a napkin.

"Why are you so upset?" he asked, pulling a chair up close and sitting down facing her. "It is true that she's very young to manifest such a strong display of magic, but it isn't a bad thing. It's a good indication that she will be a very powerful witch."

"Lucius, don't you see? She's barely two and a half years old and she just did the bloody equivalent of a non-verbal Alohomora and then ordered the door to open up for her. And the door fucking did! What if she opens it for someone she shouldn't, someone who might mean her harm? Or what if she just decides to take Malfoy bear and Foxy Lucy for a walk outside one day when I'm in the other room? She could wander off and get lost or hurt... or worse... She might not be lucky enough to be found by a nice person who will bring her back home. How will I protect her and keep her safe?

"Dear gods! Now I know how my parents felt, and they didn't even know that they were dealing with magic. My poor mother, she must have been frantic."

Lucius reached forward, placing his hand over Hermione's on the table. "How old were you?"

"How old was I when?"

"How old were you when you used spontaneous magic to get out and wander away? How old were you when you were found by some nice person who brought you home? How old were you when you made your poor mother frantic?"

"Younger than Orrie—barely two." Her response was barely a whisper. He had to lean close to hear her. "I don't remember it, but I've been told. I wanted to go to the park and Mum said not until after my nap. When she came to get me, she found my crib empty. She was ready to call the police to report me kidnapped, when the neighbor who had found me brought me home. Mum was convinced I had dragged a chair close enough to somehow unlock and open the door, then dragged the chair back before I toddled off on my way to the park. Of course, the idea that I had opened it with magic was the farthest thing from her mind."

"Dear Merlin, that is very young. I can see how she would have been terrified. You were quite the precocious little witch, even then, weren't you?" he said with a smirk.

"Lucius, it's not funny at all. That's what I am going to have to deal with..."

"Shhh... You aren't your mother, Hermione. As a Muggle, she had no idea what she was dealing with. You, however, do, and are a very capable witch. You can keep your daughter safe from herself. If you want us to, Severus and I can help you set up a series of safe wards to prevent her from wandering away or opening the door to strangers." He took her hand in his and stood, pulling her to her feet. "Meanwhile, you need to get yourself together, erase any evidence of tears and reassure her. She thinks what she did was something bad, and that you are angry with her."

"Oh no. I don't want that. It's a wonderful thing that her magic has exhibited itself. It just scared the shit out of me." Hermione nearly choked on a giggle. "But don't you dare tell her I said that. I don't want another scolding."

"You have my word of honor," he replied, trying not to smirk. He watched as she went across the hallway to the lavatory. He couldn't help but reflect that his opinions had changed a great deal in just a few short days. When he had learned that Hermione Granger, of all possible people, was the adoptive mother of his child he had been livid. Now barely a week later, he realized that he was glad that his daughter had such a strong, protective witch looking out for her.

* * *

Several weeks passed, with Lucius spending time with Orrie at least a couple times during the week and usually some group activity was planned for at least one day on the weekend. Sometimes it was a larger group and sometimes it was just the three of them and Draco or Severus.

It had been nearly two months since she'd learned that Lucius was Orrie's father. She'd been sure then that there was no way on earth that she would ever be willing to trust the man, much less like him, but she was beginning to see a different side of Lucius Malfoy. Perhaps this was the man that Pansy remembered, or the one Lisa had grown to love. In spite of this, there was still a tiny niggling doubt and thus far she had continued to insist that she be present for all of the visitations.

Hermione decided that she should let her parents know about Lucius and that he was going to be a part of Orrie's life. Even before Hermione adopted Orrie, they had been grandparents to the little girl. So she figured that the fact Lisa's never mentioned past had come back to haunt them was something her parents would want to know about.

Hermione called her mum's mobile. It rang several times before she answered. Hermione teared up at the first sound of her mum's voice. She hadn't realized how stressed she was until that very moment. "Mum?" she whispered.

"Hermione, are you all right? Is Orrie okay?"

"Yes, Mum, we're fine. We're both fine. I'm sorry. I didn't call to upset you. I don't know how to tell you this, but I have some news."

"Oh, sweetheart, have you met someone? That's wonderful!"

"Mum, no! Gods! Don't jump to conclusions. It's something to do with Orrie. It's... It's hard to say, but her dad has shown up. He's in the picture now and he wants to be a part of her life."

"Hermione, are you positive this man is Orrie's father? Have you had a paternity test?"

"No, Mum, we haven't, but I'm quite sure. He's someone I've known for quite awhile. He's much older than me, older than Lisa, too. He's younger than you and dad by about twelve or fifteen years, I'd say. I don't know the whole story, but I guess Lisa was with him... was his... his mistress. He was married then; he's divorced since. Lisa disappeared from his life with no warning about seven months before Orrie was born. He claims he had no idea she was pregnant when she left. He knew her as Elise Desmond."

Linda Granger gave a little gasp. "Well, that clinches it. I think he is who he says, love. Elise Desmond was Lisa's real name. If he knew that, then he knew her very well."

"What! Mum you knew Lisa Kelly wasn't her real name? Did she tell you about Lucius, too?"

"No, not exactly... That name, Lucius, it seems familiar though. You said he was someone you knew, Had you ever spoken of him to us?"

"I may have, but anything I said back then was sure to have been bad. I honestly didn't have a very high opinion of him before, and I haven't totally decided yet if I do now. He's a pureblood, and was thought to be very high up in the ranks of the other side during the war."

"Oh dear, that's not good, but you say he was thought to be? Does that mean he wasn't really? Was he like the teacher from your school, a double agent working behind the scenes?"

"No, Mum, I don't think so." Hermione smiled and rolled her eyes. Her mum had some kind of romanticized James Bond image of Severus, ever since she had heard of his story after the war. "It's just that some things Pansy said to me have made me try to be a bit more open-minded. Pansy's family are purebloods too, you know, and she pointed out that a lot of the people on their side were in a hard place. They were just trying to stay alive and protect their families as best they could. She said many of them were forced to do things they didn't really want to and weren't proud of. It's been hard, trying not to judge him, but I can't help but believe that Lisa must have cared for him, even though she left him. I don't really know all the circumstances around it.

"Apparently, though, he had been looking for her for the past couple of years. He was truly devastated to learn that she was dead. I could see his grief was real, even though he tried to hide it. I admired Lisa a lot, and I can't help but think that if she came to believe in him, perhaps there is something there worthy of redemption. I want that to be true, if only for Orrie's sake."

"Sweetie, I have something I think you need to have now. Having been a part of the war, Lisa was aware of her own mortality. That's why she made sure Orrie would be taken care of, by making you Orrie's guardian and asking you to adopt her. She also must have figured that Orrie's father might come back into the picture someday. She left three packets of documents in my care. One I was to give to you if Orrie's father ever came back into her life, one for the father, and the other one for Orrie when she came of age, even if she'd had no contact with her father by that time."

"What's in them?"

"Hermione, I don't know that. They're sealed and I didn't snoop. I gave Lisa my word."

"I'm sorry, Mum. Of course you didn't. That was a stupid thing to say."

"It's all right, sweetie, but I think you need to come for a visit so I can give them to you. Besides, we miss Orrie and want to see her. How about this weekend? Could you arrange your schedule to take a couple of extra days off?"

"I'd love to, but I'm not sure. I'd already made some plans for Lucius to have a visit this weekend. He might object to me changing it on such short notice. I never really thought about it, but he might make a fuss about me taking her out of the country."

"Well, there's a simple solution to that. Just bring him along with you."

"What?" asked Hermione, not sure she had heard right.

"I said bring him along. I have a packet for him as well. You said he cared for Lisa, that he showed grief when hearing of Lisa's death, and that he'd been looking for her for a long time. It might be good for the man to see where she lived, and to know that she was all right and had people around her and Orrie, who loved and supported them. It might give him closure."

Hermione hesitated. "I really don't know if that's such a good idea, Mum. This is Lucius Malfoy. He is not known for his kindness to Muggles or Muggle-borns."

"And yet his daughter is a half blood and by your own admission, it's obvious he had feelings for Lisa. Just ask the man, Hermione. If he says no, we'll work something else out, but I really miss Orrie and your dad does too. I think it's time for a visit."

"Well, okay, I'll check and get back to you."

* * *

Lucius received an owl from Hermione, asking him to meet her at the Leaky Cauldron for a late lunch. She said she had something to discuss with him and wanted to do it away from Orrie.

She had yet to bring to Orrie to the manor for a visit. He knew why, could even understand her reasons. She was reluctant to revisit the scene of her torture during the war, not that he could blame her for that. Still, if he avoided all the places he had been tortured or humiliated during Voldemort's second coming, he would be never be able to stay in his own home or any number of other places. He knew at some point he would want Orrie to come to Malfoy Manor. Therefore, Hermione should be able to come with her.

He decided that perhaps this was his chance to gently force the issue. He owled her back, saying he had some pressing business to attend to and was working from his office at home. He could certainly take time out to meet with her, but it would have to be at the manor. He indicated that the time she'd mentioned was fine and he would have the house-elves prepare luncheon for them.

By this time he knew almost to the minute how long it took his owl to reach her home. Within seconds of that time his Floo flared to life with the green flames of an incoming call. Kneeling at the hearth, he saw the image of her face.

"Lucius, I got your owl. Can't you just get away for a few minutes? We needn't have lunch. I just need to talk to you about something," she wheedled, trying to negotiate.

He stood firm. "I'm afraid I can't. You see, I'm awaiting a rather important international Floo call, but I am not sure at exactly what time. I need to be here to take it when in comes in. You are more than welcome to come through right now. I've already asked Twink to bring us some lunch. We can discuss whatever is on your mind while we eat."

"Lucius, I don't think..." She hesitated. He knew she was trying to think of a logical excuse. "It would just be better if we met somewhere else."

"I'm sorry, my dear. I don't have that option today. Perhaps we could discuss whatever it is when I come to see Orrie this weekend." He acted as though he were ready to terminate the call.

Hermione frowned and shook her head, looking as if she wanted to argue the point. Finally, with a sigh, she leaned forward and asked softly, "What room is this Floo connection in?"

His heart lurched. He felt like a bit of a beast doing this to her, but he was sure once she'd been to the manor it wouldn't be as hard to return the next time. "This is my personal study; it is adjacent to the library." Seeing her face sag in relief, he felt the need to reassure her. "Hermione, the room you fear no longer exists. It was gutted after the war. It has been completely stripped and refurbished, as many other parts of the manor have been. I doubt you would even recognize it now. Come through. Please," he requested, holding out a hand to her.

A second later she stepped through the Floo, taking his hand. "How did you know?" she asked, her eyes downcast. "Sometimes I feel as though you read me like a book."

"It wasn't hard to guess. Every time I've suggested having one of Orrie's visits here, even one of the group gatherings, you have resisted. I'd have to be one of Severus' dunderheads not to have figured it out. Come into the library. There's a solarium off the south wall. I have had Twink set up our luncheon there. She will wait here in my study to notify me if my business call comes through," said Lucius, keeping up the pretense that he really did need to remain here.

They made a bit of small talk, mostly about Orrie, as they began their lunch. Then Hermione got to point of her visit. "Lucius, something has come up this weekend and I may need to cancel our plans."

Lucius frowned. He clearly had not been expecting that. "I'm sorry, but that is not acceptable. If you have other things to do, I see no reason why I might not still see Orrie. Personally, I don't feel there is a need to continue the supervised visitations, but for your peace of mind I am willing to have a meeting with either Severus or Pansy and Potter present.

Hermione set her fork down, reaching to take a sip of water. "I would agree to that, Lucius, except that Orrie will not be available either. My mother has asked me to come over this weekend. Of course, she and my dad want to see Orrie as well. Not only is she their grandchild by virtue of the adoption, but they were considered and treated as such by Lisa since Orrie's birth. They haven't seen us since the holidays, and they want us to come for a visit."

She hesitated, fiddling nervously with her napkin. "I told my mother about you... Being Orrie's father, I mean, and wanting to be a part of her life. In fact, when I mentioned that you knew Lisa as Elise Desmond, my mum confirmed that was Lisa's real name. Apparently, Mum knew a bit more about Lisa than I had ever guessed. I know you wouldn't be interested, but she said you should come with us for the weekend."

Lucius nearly choked on a sip of wine. "What? Why on earth would your mother invite me to come with you?"

"I told her it was a silly idea. Realistically though, you must accept the fact that they are the only grandparents Orrie will ever have, since Lisa lost her parents during the war and yours are gone as well. My parents will always play an important role in our daughter's life."

Lucius smiled to himself upon hearing Hermione refer to Orrie as their daughter. However, her other comment, about Lisa losing her parents during the war, caused him considerable discomfort. What would she think if she knew that he had been present that night? Would she ever let him near their girl again if she knew the reality of the horrors he had... well, not exactly taken part in, but had witnessed and done nothing to stop?

Hermione continued, "I told my Mum how you'd been looking for Lisa, and how upset you were when you learned of her death. I know, we've never spoken of it between us, Lucius, but your grief was clear to me. My mother seems so think it would ease your mind to see the place where Lisa... errr... Elise and Orrie lived, and for you to know that they weren't alone and that they had people who supported them, loved them. She thinks it will give you some kind of closure.

"I know you must think her ideas silly..."

"Tell you parents I will accept the invitation."

"What? You aren't serious. Are you?"

"I must say, the things your mother said are true. It would mean a great deal to me to see where Elise had been living, where my daughter was born, the people whom she trusted. Perhaps closure is the proper word for it all."

Hermione looked a bit uneasy at the idea of Lucius and her parents together. "Of course you do realize that my parents are Muggles."

"Well yes, as you are one of the best known Muggle-borns in our world, I had figured that part out," he replied a bit sarcastically.

"I'd expect you to treat them decently, Lucius," she said defensively.

"Hermione, I would not enter your parents' home as a guest and treat them rudely. Not intentionally, at any rate. I'll admit that there may be things that I don't understand about the Muggle world or cultural differences between us, but I promise I will do my best to treat them with the respect due them as my daughter's beloved grandparents."

Hermione flushed, and she looked a bit embarrassed at doubting his intentions. "I'm sorry. I sometimes have a hard time reconciling the you I am getting to know now with the image of you I grew up with."

With a sigh, Lucius reached out and patted her hand. "I understand, my dear. I have a hard time with it myself sometimes."

* * *

They arrived at the Grangers' home in Foxford on Friday, just before noon. Hermione had arranged to stay there with Orrie until Monday, giving them the chance for a nice long weekend visit. Lucius planned to leave early on Sunday, which would both give him two full days with Orrie, yet would still allow some private time for Hermione and her parents as well.

The house was neither a grand manor nor a humble cottage but something in between. The cottage where Lisa had lived with Orrie was nearby, on a lot that abutted their property. According to Hermione, her parents had purchased it after they moved in, claiming it was an investment. It was just a ten minute walk on a path through the woods.

Linda and John Granger greeted their daughter and grandchild with many hugs and kisses and exclamations of delight.

Lucius felt a bit out of place and overwhelmed by their actions. Even in the best of times neither his own family of Draco and Narcissa, nor the family he had grown up in, had ever been as open with their affections as the Grangers seemed to be. Before long he was caught up in it all as Hermione's introduction led to a tight hug from Linda Granger.

Her words surprised him. "I'm so happy to meet you at last, Lucius. Although I never knew your name, Lisa did speak of you to both John and myself."

John Granger stepped up and firmly shook his hand. "Very good to meet you. Well, let's get this crew all settled in then, shall we?" Scooping Orrie up in his arms, he led the way into the house.

"Hermione, you and Orrie will be in your rooms of course," he said, setting Orrie down. She immediately ran to her room, obviously familiar with the home. "Lucius, you get your choice, my den or Linda's sewing room. There's a day bed in the sewing room or a sofa in the den, but I'm sure you can manage to fix either one up as you like," he said with a little wink.

As Linda followed Hermione into Orrie's room to get her unpacked, John turned back to Lucius. "Linda and I discussed it and although we both feel it would be too soon, we wanted you to know that you are more than welcome to use the cottage, if you prefer your privacy. However, we thought it might be too uncomfortable for you to stay there just yet, if ever. Besides, if you are here with us you will get to spend more time with your beautiful daughter. Hermione says that you want to be part of her life. That's a good thing, I think. Little girls need their fathers."

Lucius clenched his jaw. Who were these people, and what were they thinking to invite a stranger like him into their home? To treat him like family? If they had any idea of the things he'd done, the things... Then he paused. These were the people who had given Elise a family to rely on, a support system when she needed it, the same couple who had raised a strong, sensible, intelligent witch like Hermione. For all intents and purposes, they were his daughter's grandparents and he had better treat them as such.

"I thank you, John. I believe I will take the den if you don't mind. You are right. While I do want to see the place where Elise and Orrie lived, I think it would be too difficult for me to stay there. You are also correct in that I intend to be a part of my daughter's life. For now, however, Orrie believes me to be a family friend. Please don't let my role as her father slip. Hermione and I have agreed to wait until we both feel she is ready for that.

"In all honesty, your daughter is not entirely trusting of me, as of yet, and I will admit, based on my actions in the past, she has good cause to feel that way. I don't blame her at all. I do hope to change her mind about that, though, and to convince her that I only have Orrie's best interests at heart."

John stared at him and for a moment and seemed about to say something, but then he shook his head and said, "Well, Lucius, I suppose this is the part where I tell you if you hurt my girls you'll answer to me. Consider it said, then, and before you ask, I may not have magic, but I do have connections. I know people in your world. People who know people—Powerful people. Enough said. Let's get you settled in the den. Linda's got lunch ready and she's talked about nothing else for days but our girls and you coming to visit."

Lunch was simple fare of a hearty vegetable and beef soup with warm, crusty homemade bread. It was also a bit chaotic, with so much conversation and laughter between the Grangers as Hermione updated them on what she and Orrie had been up to since they had seen each other over the holidays. It was so different from the quiet, sedate family meals at the manor. Seeing the four of them together, interacting and showing such open affections seemed like a good thing. Still, his inner Slytherin reminded him that open was not always wise. Sometimes, in the interest of self-preservation, keeping your emotions in check and under tight control was the safer route to take.

Orrie was clearly happy to see her grandparents again, interrupting often to tell her nana or grampa something. At one point she even climbed down from her seat to go fetch Foxy Lucy to introduce her to her nana and explain that 'Woo-cee-us' had given her the gift. Linda oooh'd and aaahh'd appropriately over the plushie fox and, glancing up, smiled warmly at Lucius.

* * *

After lunch Orrie wanted her grampa to read her a story for nap time and she wanted Hermione to come, too. As the three went off to choose an appropriate book, Linda turned to Lucius and suggested if he wanted to walk down to Lisa's cottage she would come along and show him the way.

"That's only if you want to, of course. I'm not trying to force you, if it makes you uncomfortable. At this point in time, we really haven't changed anything. It's just as she left it and neither John nor I have had the heart to do anything with it. I know at some point we will have to, but for now we decided to just let it be."

"Yes, thank you. I do want to see it. I would appreciate your company and I'd like to ask you about Elise's time here. If you don't mind, that is," said Lucius.

Linda shook her head. "No, I don't mind at all. Let's go. We can talk on the way. Do you have a warm coat and gloves? It's a short walk, but it's rather cold today and the wind is quite brisk."

Lucius went to the den. He hadn't brought a heavy coat, but he transfigured a set of wool robes into a coat and met Linda at the back door. They walked along for a few moments in companionable silence, enjoying the outdoors. Although the day was cold, the sky was a clear blue and the sun shone brightly.

Finally, Lucius broke the silence. "Hermione mentioned that you knew what Elise's real name was, but she had no idea. Why was that?"

"Hermione believes that we first met Elise when she came here and rented the cottage. She is not aware of a lot of things that took place here during the war. We didn't want to burden her with worrying about our involvement; she had her hands full just surviving. The truth is that we worked very closely with Elise, and a few others, to get the Muggle families of Muggle-borns and half bloods out of the country. Especially those high profile ones most likely to be targets. The cottage, here, that later became her home was one of the safe houses we used to hide the people in. Some stayed only a few hours, some days, a few as long as a week or more."

Lucius stopped dead in his tracks and turned to stare at the woman. She was an older version of her daughter. She had the same expressive, big, dark eyes, a few shades darker than Hermione's, and it was clear where Hermione had got the gene for her wild, curly hair. Although Linda's was graying, he could tell that it had been much darker than her daughter's. Hermione's hair color was more like John's must have been in younger years, a soft brown with warm honey highlights. Lucius brought himself out of his reverie about Hermione Granger's hair and eyes and thought about what her mother had just told him. "You're serious about this?"

She stared back at him, clear-eyed. "Absolutely. We'd always intended to tell Hermione, but after the war she withdrew from everything for quite some time. It was very hard for her to talk about things that happened. The time just never seemed right. Once Lisa moved in here, she obviously couldn't have her identity revealed since she was in hiding, so we just left the rest of the past buried.

"Here we are," she said as they came around the curve in the path. Before them was a quaint little thatched roof cottage that looked like something out of a faerie tale. "During the war it was hidden under the Fidelius Charm, and Lisa was the Secret Keeper. Once she came here to live and got to know Hermione, they renewed the Charm and Hermione was her Secret Keeper. The spell has been removed since her death. Hermione didn't see any need to maintain it with Lisa gone."

Linda pulled a key from her pocket and unlocked the door. "Come. I'll make a pot of tea and we can sit and warm up and chat for a bit. You can ask me those questions you had. Then you can have some time to yourself, if you'd like."

TBC


	6. Chapter 5

A Gift of Love

Chapter 5

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own HP, I make no money from this work.

A/N: Many thanks go to my lovely helpers my beta: talesofsnape, and my alpha: morethansirius, their help and input were invaluable.

* * *

While Linda made the tea, Lucius wandered around the cottage. He merely glanced into the bedrooms, but spent more time examining the living room in closer detail. It was small, but cozy... warm, homey. He could picture Elise sitting here by the fire, reading to Orrie, just as Hermione did at home. He studied the knick-knacks and pictures and the books on the shelves. He wondered what she had thought about when she was here. Had her thoughts ever been of him? Had she missed him... wanted him back? Had she been lonely? Had she loved him... hated him?

His thoughts were disrupted by Linda calling him to tea. He came and sat at the small kitchen table, his chair pushed back against the wall so he could fit. She asked him how he took his tea and poured him a cup. They sat in silence for a few moments before Lucius asked, "Was Elise happy here?"

She thought for a moment. "Yes, she was, eventually. When she first came to us here, she was upset, a bit angry, I think perhaps a little frightened, too. After a time as she settled in things got better, especially after Orrie came. I can say honestly that, yes, she was happy here."

"You said earlier that she spoke of me?" Lucius wasn't sure if he really wanted to know, but some little demon in his brain forced him to ask anyway.

"Yes, she did, quite a lot actually, but nothing about _you_ specifically. By that I mean she never mentioned your name, or where you lived, or what you did for a living, but she did talk of her past with you quite a bit. I'm fairly good at reading between the lines," said Linda with a small smile.

The corner of Lucius' lips quirked up in answer to her smile. "I'll just bet you are." He hesitated for a moment and then said, "You and John were good to her. You have my thanks for that. I can tell by how Orrie is with you that she is comfortable here and she loves you. You both treat her just as you would your own grandchild."

"Oh for goodness' sake! Why wouldn't we? She is our granddaughter, and I don't mean by Hermione's adoption. She always has been," Linda explained simply. "Lisa was... Oh I know her real name was Elise and that is how you think of her, but to us for the past several years she's been Lisa. Anyway, how could we not love her? She was so much like our Hermione: bright and bold and beautiful and brave, and after all the things they saw and did during the war, both of them more than just a little bit broken."

She paused for a second, turning her face away, and wiped tears from her eyes. "She loved you, you know. She never said it, not in so many words, but I know it's true. When she first came here, I could tell, she was waiting for something. Hoping..."

"For what?"

"She was waiting for you, Lucius. I'm sure she thought that you would come for her eventually. She was waiting for you to come, but you never did. I believe—" Linda stopped and stared down into the bottom of her tea cup as though it held the answers to all the woes of the world.

"You believe... what?" he asked, his voice raspy with emotion.

She shook her head, refusing to look up at him. "I don't want to say things that will hurt you. She wouldn't want that."

Lucius grunted in self-disgust. "I'm sure I deserve to be hurt. Finish what you were going to say—You believe what?"

"I believe that when you didn't come for her... It broke her heart."

Lucius swallowed and moaned softly. He sank back in the chair and his head hit the wall behind him with a thunk. He smacked it back a couple of more times, just for good measure. It hurt, and he was glad. "Fuck!" he muttered under his breath as he stood to pace back and forth in the small space of the kitchen. "I was devastated when I returned to our cottage to find her gone. I'd had no warning, and there was not a sign of her. I assumed that she had been planning it for a long time, for her to have disappeared so completely. It felt like a betrayal of trust and I became bitter. I managed to convince myself it was all for the best. Nearly a year went by before I started looking for her."

"Oh, Lucius," sighed Linda. "She executed her exit so well because she was an expert at making people... Hell, whole families even, disappear without a trace. Surely when you read her letter, she must have explained the circumstances..." At her mention of a letter, Lucius' head snapped around as though it were spring-loaded, his face paled and he looked as if he might get sick.

"Oh shit!" gasped Linda.

Well, now he knew where Hermione got her propensity for the phrase. "Something went terribly wrong, didn't it? You never got her letter, did you?"

"There was no letter, none that I ever received. What was in it?"

"I've no idea. An explanation, I presume. She said she left it with a house-elf whom she trusted implicitly. The elf was to wait until you were completely alone to give you the letter. I don't understand what could have gone wrong."

"The house-elf was Obliviated by my ex-wife. She meant to cover up her part in the whole fiasco, but in a fit of anger she accidentally wiped out more than she intended. The poor creature still has problems functioning, and she obviously did not remember the letter. Twink was extremely devoted to Elise. She would have done anything she asked. If she'd had any memory of the letter, she would have given it to me."

"Oh, Lucius," sighed Linda. "Lisa implied as much. She was positive that the elf must have given you the letter and that you had made your choice. At one point I even asked her if she didn't want to try to contact Orrie's father, but she said, if he'd wanted anything to do with them, he would have come or at least contacted her. She felt the fact that you hadn't, indicated that you had no interest in having anything to do with a half-blood child. I think that was the point at which she stopped hoping you would come."

Lucius stopped his pacing and turned sharply. He sank back into the chair, deflated. "Dear Merlin! She thought I wouldn't acknowledge my daughter? That I didn't want her? That I didn't want either of them?"

He felt a frantic urge to assure Linda Granger that this wasn't the case. If she believed Elise had been right, she might convince Hermione it was true. He grasped desperately at her hand and declared, "I can promise you nothing could be farther from the truth. I will admit that, at one point in my life, I did hold those kinds of beliefs, but no longer, I swear to you. You must believe me. I've changed, because of Elise. She changed me."

"No, Lucius. You changed yourself," she replied softly, patting his hand. "I know some of the things you did..."

At these words his heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. What things did she know? About how Elise's family had died brutally while he had turned his back and done nothing? About how her own daughter had been tortured in his home and once again he'd stood by like some kind of casual observer? About the countless other times during the war he'd done nothing while others did Voldemort's dirty work? Or the times he had done things he couldn't get out of doing, in order to protect the safety of his family. He nearly blurted out his guilt when he heard her continue.

"... how you protected Lisa, at great risk to yourself, by hiding her in your safe house. How you provided her with the house-elf to assist her, and funds throughout the war to carry out her project to save as many Muggle-borns and their families as she could."

He sneered. "That was all nothing. Those things were all done at no real risk to me. Meanwhile, I stood by and watched horrible things happen and did nothing."

"It wasn't nothing, and it was at great risk! Had you been discovered harboring a Muggle-born witch, giving her safe haven and covertly bankrolling her refugee operation, it would have been a death sentence. You can't deny that. Once you had saved her, you could have sent her away and never given her another thought, but you didn't. Whether you meant to do it or not you made a difference in the lives of many by your actions. There may have been those you couldn't save yourself, but there were many we did save because you kept our secrets."

"Not intentionally. I didn't even know about you and John and your involvement," he retorted.

"Perhaps not. You did know what she was doing, though, didn't you? You did and you can't deny it. And yet you didn't try to stop her_ and _you continued providing her with funds."

"Pfffft! The money was nothing!" declared Lucius, dismissing it with a wave of his hand. "Yes, I knew what she was doing. How could I deny her? She'd lost everything that night when I found her in the woods outside her parent's home. Helping to save others like her family gave her purpose. I owed her at least that much. The money was nothing," he repeated.

"You could deny her nothing, not because of any debt you owed her, but because you loved her. Whether you ever admitted it to her or even to yourself, Lucius, it's a very clear to me that you did," accused Linda.

"Yes, I did!" said Lucius vehemently, surprising himself by his admission, "and it kills me now to think that she went to her grave thinking that I didn't, believing that I would have denied her child... our child. I love Orrie. I would do anything for her."

They both slumped back and stared at each other for a while. Linda finally smiled wryly and commented, "Well, that was certainly cathartic, wasn't it?"

"Indeed," replied Lucius. Thoughtlessly taking a sip of his now cold tea and being too polite to spit it back out, he choked it down before banishing what was left in both their cups. Casting a heating charm on the tea pot, he poured them each another cup. Looking at Linda shrewdly, he said, "I'd like to ask you a personal question."

"You can ask me anything, Lucius. I can't guarantee that I'll answer it, though," she said with a sly smile.

"That's a very Slytherin response. I can see where Hermione gets it from. My question is why did you do it?"

"Be more specific, please. Do what?" she asked with a slight frown.

"Hermione sent you off here to keep you safe. There was this huge fiction set out amongst the wizarding world that you'd been sent off to Australia with new identities and no memory of your past. No one had any idea you were here, and yet you risked it all to help save people you didn't even know. Why?"

Linda was very quiet for a moment. Then she stood, walked to the living room and retrieved a framed photograph, setting it down on the table in front of Lucius. Sitting back down herself, she pointed at three people in the photo, a teenaged girl of about fifteen or sixteen with two younger children a boy and a girl about eleven and eight respectively. "Because of them," she said.

Lucius frowned and picked up the photo to study it. It was black and white. Obviously, by the clothing it was of an earlier era. "I don't understand. Are these relatives of Elise?"

"No, sorry. I didn't mean to confuse you. I told Lisa their story, and she was very moved by it. The girl in that picture had come to a strange new place and begun a whole new life. Lisa felt a kinship with her and asked if she could keep the picture here as inspiration."

Lucius looked more closely at the children in the picture. The oldest girl seemed strangely familiar, and then he realized why. "She has your eyes, and Hermione's, too."

Linda nodded. "Actually, I think it's the other way around. We have her eyes. How much do you know about Muggle history, Lucius?" she asked.

"A little, not an extensive amount, but some," he replied.

"Then I assume that you know that the wizarding world does not have a monopoly on men who are in truth monsters?"

He nodded, unsure if he really wanted to hear where this story was going.

"We've had many over the years, our own versions of your Voldemort and Grindelwald," she said grimly.

"The oldest girl in this photo is my mother, Lydia Koval. The two younger children are her brother, Adrien, and her sister, Bianka. This photo was taken in 1939. My mother was only fifteen years old at the time. Her family lived in Germany near the border of Poland. A ruler had come into power there. He believed he could create a superior race of people. However, he thought there were some factions that should simply be eliminated because they didn't fit into his plan, certain groups he wanted to wipe out completely. There's a word for it—genocide. The Jews were one group he wanted to wipe out. My mother's people were another. They were Romani. Some call them Gypsies.

"I've been told that my grandmother was a very smart woman..."

"That trait seems to run in your family," interrupted Lucius.

Linda smiled. "I suppose it does. She heard rumors and she saw what was happening around her. She sold everything she could. In the end she couldn't come up with enough money to get her family out of Germany. She only had enough to send her three youngest children away. She'd found people who were willing to help. So she paid for false identity papers and the fare to put the three on a train to a port in France. The conductor on the train was given extra money to get them from the train station to the docks and buy them passage on a ship to England. Once there, they were sent to people who sheltered them for a time and helped my mother find work so she could support the three of them."

"Work? But she was little more than a child herself," objected Lucius.

"Children grow up fast in war time," responded Linda grimly.

Lucius looked at the picture again. "Was she reunited with her family after the war?"

Linda shook her head sadly. "You really _don't_ know much about Muggle history, do you?" She was immediately contrite. "I'm sorry. That was incredibly rude of me. There's no reason you would know, Lucius, any more than the average Muggle would who Urg the Unclean was. No, sadly, she never saw any of her family again, neither her parents nor any of her three older brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins... They were all lost. Most were sent to a place called Auschwitz, some to Belzec. They were both concentration camps, prisons. In reality, they were death camps. My mother was very lucky to escape that fate. She met and married an English man. I was born when she was only nineteen."

Linda picked up the picture and looked at it again. "My uncle Adrien was twelve when this photo was taken. Four years later, he lied about his age so he could run away to join the army and fight. He survived the invasion at Normandy, only to die two weeks later. My Aunt Bianka still lives in England."

"And your mother?" asked Lucius, curious.

"Mum passed last year. My father had died the year before and she was just never the same after his death."

"I am sorry for your loss. She sounds like a wonderful woman."

"She was, and very brave too. So, that explains my 'why'. If there hadn't been people willing to help my grandmother get at least some of her children out of the country, I wouldn't be here today. Hermione wouldn't be here today. If Hermione hadn't been here to help Harry... well who knows what would have happened. I like to tell myself that perhaps some of the families who we smuggled out during the wizarding war are alive because we helped them. Who knows? Perhaps one of the children or grandchildren of one of those people will do something in the future to change the world."

"I think bravery must run in your genes. I said earlier your response reminded me of a Slytherin, but like your daughter, I'm sure both you and Lydia would have been sorted into Gryffindor."

* * *

Linda went back up to the house, leaving Lucius some private time at the cottage. He spent some time looking around outside and could see that Elise had put in a herb and a potions garden near the back door and farther back was the remains of a small vegetable garden. He decided to explore inside a bit more. There wasn't a lot to see; the cottage was small, just the bathroom and two bedrooms left. Orrie's room was brightly painted. Obvious care had been taken in decorating it for a well-loved child, but it looked barren now. Hermione had taken most of Orrie's things with her to England. It made sense that she had wanted the child to have familiar things around her.

Gathering his courage Lucius entered the room that had been Elise's. He stood just inside the doorway and looked around. A big bed stood in one corner, covered with a royal blue spread and piles of decorative pillows. Lucius couldn't help but smile. She'd always loved all those blasted pillows, while he thought they just got in the way. To the side was a dresser with a tall mirror. Elise's things were still scattered about, perfumes, lotions, nail varnish, her hair brush and comb. He fingered the fine hairs still caught in the bristles of the brush and for a brief instant considered taking it, but he rejected the idea nearly as soon as it formed. A Polyjuiced double wouldn't bring her back to him. It would only torment him with thoughts of what might have been.

He picked up one nearly full perfume and sniffed, wrinkling his nose. It wasn't bad. It just wasn't her scent. Frowning, he set it down and opened another that was nearly empty. This bottle looked familiar. He recognized it as her favorite. It was the brand he had always bought her. He sniffed that one. Oh gods, it was her. He breathed it in deeply, her scent in his nose, in his head, the memories flooding through his brain. His knees nearly buckled as he stumbled to a rocking chair in the corner by the window.

Had she sat here in the dark on nights when she couldn't sleep, his babe growing inside her, wondering why he hadn't come for them? Had she sat in this same spot a few months later, rocking their child to sleep, all the while believing that he was willing to deny his own daughter? Had she hated him then? He glanced down and saw her knitting basket tucked into a corner. Lifting the lid, he idly fingered through the soft jumble of yarns and things until he came upon a tiny jumper, half finished. She must have been making it for Orrie, but she hadn't lived to finish it, or to see her wear it, or to see their little girl grow up. That tiny jumper managed to do what the Ministry of Magic, and Azkaban, and even Voldemort had never been able to do to Lucius Malfoy. That tiny jumper is what finally broke him.

_Malfoys don't cry, son. Malfoys don't show emotion. Malfoys are stoic, Lucius. Malfoys are strong. _All the lessons that had been drummed into him since his youth came tumbling down in that one instant. Laid low by a tiny baby jumper and a near empty bottle of perfume. Lucius felt his chest tighten and as the bubble burst he roared and howled out his grief and his sorrow. Clutching the tiny jumper to him, his tears fell unchecked.

* * *

When Hermione showed up at the cottage in mid-afternoon, the Lucius she found there was quite calm and collected. No sign of his earlier outburst was visible. He sat in the living room on the couch, thumbing through a cookbook, of all things.

She tapped lightly on the door and, opening it a crack, poked her head in. "Lucius?" As he looked up at her, she asked, "Is it okay for me to come in?"

He nodded and waved her in.

As she sat down next to him, she glanced at the cookbook in his lap and looked at him, puzzled. "Planning to cook dinner?"

He chuckled. "No. I found this and it started me wondering how she got on here with Orrie. They had no house-elves to care for them. Elise really was on her own. Oh, I know she had your parents for support, and thank goodness for that, but in her day to day life she really had to fend for herself: cooking, cleaning, caring for Orrie."

Hermione smiled and shook her head. "You're looking at it from a wizard's point of view, and a wealthy wizard at that. You must remember, though, that she grew up in a Muggle home. There were no house elves or servants. I'm sure she was quite used to fending for herself when she was younger. I know for a fact she loved to cook, unlike me, who has a tendency to create burnt offerings."

Lucius chuckled at her comment and looked down at the book. "I wonder what her favorite things to cook were."

Hermione reached for the book. "May I?" He handed it to her and she leafed through the pages. "I'd say look for the pages that are the dirtiest. You know, stained with bits and drips of sauce, grease marks from butter, flour or sugar residue on the pages... See here?" She turned the book around to face him so he could read the page that looked exactly as she'd just described. "Ginger biscuits, Orrie's favorite."

Closing the book, she set it on the coffee table. "Speaking of Orrie, she's up from her nap and was asking about you. I told her you'd taken a walk and would be back soon. I didn't want to bring her here to the cottage just yet. Maybe when she's a little older. It's just that she seems to be adjusting to being with me now. I was afraid bringing her here... Well, I was afraid it might be a bit too soon."

"I do think that is a wise choice," agreed Lucius.

Spying the picture of her grandmother on the table, Hermione picked it up. "Nana Lydia."

"Yes, your mother told me the story of how she came to this country with her sister and brother. Your great-grandmother was a very brave woman. It must have been heart-breaking for her to send her youngest children away like that. By doing so, she saved them, though."

"At least the girls were saved. Uncle Adrien went back and got himself killed in the war. Nana always said he was an angry young man, determined to fight no matter what she and Aunt Bianka said to him."

Setting the photo back down, Hermione looked at Lucius. "While Orrie was still napping, my mum and dad sat me down. They told me some of the things that went on here during our war, and about Lisa's part in it, too."

Hermione shook her head. "I can hardly believe that while I assumed they were living the safe, quiet life here in Ireland, the whole time they were conductors at a stop on the underground railway."

Lucius looked totally bewildered by her comment, causing her to laugh.

"I'm sorry, it's a Muggle reference. Lisa and my parents and few others worked to get the families of Muggle-borns targeted by Voldemort out of the country. In the U.S., during the eighteen hundreds and maybe earlier—I'm not sure of the exact dates—the underground railway was a method for slaves to escape the southern states to get to freedom in the north. It consisted of a series of safe houses and the people who kept them. They would hide the slaves for a day or two and then send them on to the next safe house. The term was also used here in Europe during World War II in connection to smuggling people out of the occupied countries. There wasn't an actual railway, and it wasn't underground either. I suppose they called it that because it was hidden—secret."

Lucius shook his head. "Muggles have the strangest terminology sometimes. And what do you think of what your parents did, now that you know?"

"Well, I'm glad I didn't know what they were up to at the time. I would have worried myself sick, but now that I do know... I'm very proud of them."

Looking down at the table, she saw some other items piled there. "What's all this?"

"A few things I found of Elise's I'd like to keep. I'd hoped you wouldn't mind?" Lucius said, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Of course not. It's fine. I'm sure my parent's won't mind. You're welcome to any mementos you like. Well, aside from Nana Lydia here," she teased, pointing at the photo. Hermione picked up the perfume bottle and smiled. "This was her favorite. I got her a huge bottle of something else for Christmas, but she hardly used any of it. She always wore this."

"That was the scent I always gave her. I knew she liked it best," explained Lucius softly.

"What's this?" asked Hermione, picking up a silver locket. "I never saw her wear it."

"I found it in her jewelry box. I'd like to keep it, and that is a pair of diamond earrings I had given her," he said, pointing to the earrings on the table. "I'd like to put them aside for Orrie, to give to her on her seventeenth birthday. Something from her mother... errr... her real mother. Umm... that is not to say that you are not a good mother to her, but... "

Hermione leaned over to lay her hand on top of his. "Lucius, it's fine. I do know what you mean. I want Orrie to always remember Lisa. She knows that I'm not her birth mother. We look at pictures of her mum and talk about her all the time." She'd been fiddling with the clasp on the locket and she gasped as it sprung open to reveal three oval frames. Orrie's picture was in the center, taken when she was barely two. On one side was a photo of Elise and, on the other, the photo was clearly of Lucius.

"I didn't even know she had that," he said. "She must have got Twink to secure the picture for her."

"That's probably why I never saw her wear it. If I'd asked to see the pictures inside, I would have recognized you immediately."

Hermione set the locket gently back down on the table and picked up the last item he'd saved. "Oh, I remember when she started this," she said, holding up the half-done jumper. It was deep purple with very pale pink trim. "She'd hoped to finish it in time for Christmas..." she stopped and cleared her throat as she choked up a bit.

"You know," she said, holding the jumper up to examine it more closely. "I knit too. I could probably finish it for you." Her face fell. "But Orrie has grown so much that it probably wouldn't fit her now anyway. Maybe with enlargement charms?"

"No!" He practically shouted as he snatched it from her hand. "I'm sorry," he said more calmly. "It's just that, actually, I want it just as it is. It's something that she was making for our daughter with her own two hands, a labor of love. It doesn't matter that it's unfinished. It's knowing that each strand of yarn slid through her fingers as she made each stitch. It's being able to touch it, knowing that she touched it, too. It's... Oh sweet goddess, I must sound completely demented."

Hermione slid across the couch to squeeze his knee as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. "No, you don't, Lucius, not at all. I totally understand."

Just then the clock on the mantle chimed the hour. "We really should be getting back. Orrie will be wondering where we've both got off to. Plus, right about now, she is probably driving my parents nuts."

* * *

The rest of the day passed quickly. Lucius was treated to a lesson in Muggle technology combined with a two-year-old's obsession. Orrie had watched a DVD of the Disney film, _The Fox and the Hound_ with Linda while they were out. She then demanded that they watch it with her again before dinner, and again that evening. She insisted that Todd was Foxy Lucy's new boyfriend, and Copper could be bestest friends with both of them. Lucius snickered and called them the new Golden Trio.

He also got a chance to witness the fact that, while Orrie was an adorable child, she also had her 'difficult' moments. In other words, she had a full blown temper tantrum. After the third viewing of the film, Hermione declared it was Orrie's bedtime and told her to tell her grandparents and Lucius goodnight.

"No! I don' wanna! I wants to see Todd n' Copper again."

When Hermione insisted that three times through was certainly more than enough, Orrie threw herself to the floor, kicking and crying and carrying on. There were shouts of 'No, no, no, no!' and "You is a mean mummy!' along with much wailing and crying. Hermione simply gathered her up off the floor.

"Orrie! If you keep this up, it is not going to end well. Now, say goodnight and come along. We'll get you into your pajamas and I'll let you choose a bedtime story. If you don't behave, you'll go to bed with no story. The choice is yours."

Giving Hermione a nasty look, Orrie surveyed the room and choose the weakest link. "Woo-cee-us," she wailed, running to where he sat and wrapping her arms around his legs. "Pweeese, Woo-cee-us. Pweeese, can we watch it some more?"

With her big blue eyes staring up at him, he felt like he could deny her nothing. He patted her on the head, unsure how to respond. One look up gave him his answer. Hermione's glare clearly said, _If you give in to her, I swear, I will murder you outright and hide your body where the Aurors will never find it._

Setting his daughter aside gently, he said, "No, Orrie. I'm sorry. Your mum is right. It's past your bedtime. You must run along and get ready for bed now." Bending down, he kissed the top of her head. "Goodnight, sweetheart."

Orrie trudged over as if she were marching to the gallows, and gave her nana and grampa a kiss. She allowed Hermione to pick her up and even snuggled up to her, laying her head on Hermione's shoulder.

Once they were out of earshot, Lucius turned to Linda and John. "What in hell was that?" he asked perplexed.

They looked at each other and burst out laughing. "That little monster was your first glimpse of the 'terrible twos'. Believe me, we adore Orrie. We think she is the most marvelous child on the face of the earth, but like any other toddler she has these moments," said Linda.

"Plus, you must realize, it's been a very busy day for her, quite stressful really. What with all the excitement of traveling here, seeing us again, having you come along with them, staying up past her bed time, it just came to a head and she had a bit of a meltdown. She'll be fine, you'll see. After a good nights sleep, she'll be right back to being your sweet little girl again," John assured him.

The two decided they'd had a long day, also, and said they were going to go 'read ' in bed for a while. From the looks the two were giving each other, Lucius suspected that 'read' was actually code for something else entirely. After they left the room, holding hands like a couple of teenagers, Lucius decided to slip up to Orrie's room and see if she had settled down for Hermione.

* * *

He stood, leaning against the door frame, arms crossed over his chest. He stayed very quiet and observed. Hermione had just turned off the goose-necked reading light and set the storybook aside. It was one of Orrie's favorites, some ridiculous Muggle rhyming tale about Sam I am and whether he liked green eggs and ham.

As Hermione moved gently away, Orrie stirred, not quite asleep, and snuggled close to her. "I wuv you, Mummy," she said as she wrapped her arms around Hermione's neck in a hug.

"I love you, too, poppet," she replied, using Severus' favorite nickname for Orrie. Within moments, the little girl dozed off and slumped back against her pillow. Hermione lay on her side, her head propped up on one hand as the other reached down to smooth the hair back from Orrie's face. She stroked it several times as her thumb traced over the little girl's cheek. With a soft smile she bent and kissed her forehead reverently. "I do love you so much," she whispered.

Just as she moved back to slide off the edge of the bed, she looked up to see Lucius standing in the doorway and she smiled warmly at him. In that instant he wondered why he had never noticed before what a lovely woman Hermione Granger had grown up to be.

She strolled around to the other side of the bed and tucked the blankets around Orrie, carefully placing Malfoy Bear and Foxy Lucy underneath the edge of the covers with her. She turned and shut off the lamp on the bedside table, leaving just a dim nightlight on in the room. Coming to him, she turned to look back once more at the bed.

For some reason beyond his control, his hand settled on her shoulder in a light embrace. Leaning down to whisper softly near her ear, he said, "You are wonderful with her. Your love for her shines through." Unbidden, his thumb lazily caressed up and down the nape of her neck just as she had traced their daughter's cheek moments earlier.

She shivered at his touch, and, turning slightly, looked up at him with wide-eyes. She pulled away from him, reaching for the door. "Let's step out. I don't want to wake her."

Once in the hallway she seemed uncertain what to do. She took a few steps away from him, as if trying to put a bit of space between them.

"You handled that very well downstairs. I thought for a moment that some Fae had slipped in and replaced my sweet little girl with a harpy child when I wasn't looking," he said with a chuckle, as he moved closer to her.

Hermione laughed lightly, edging away nervously. She finally reached her bedroom door. "It _was _just a bit Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'ish. Oh sorry. Muggle reference again. That's... "

He stilled her words by placing a finger on her lips. "You don't have to explain. That one I understood. I have read some Muggle fiction." He could have sworn he felt a spark when he touched her. Trying to lighten the mood, he casually leaned his shoulder against the wall next to her door. "She definitely did turn into a monster for a few minutes there."

"Well," began Hermione, leaning against the door but turning slightly to face him. "I realized that she was overly tired from the busy day, and that usually makes her cranky. When she started having her tantrum, I knew that yelling back at her would just make things worse. The best thing was just to get her tucked into bed."

She looked up at him again and gasped slightly as his eyes met hers. His eyes gazed down into hers intently and he watched the tip of her tongue slide over her bottom lip. He could see the pulse racing in her throat and some force he couldn't understand overcame him as he leaned towards her.

Suddenly Hermione's hand twisted the door knob behind her and the door swung open. She practically fell back into her bedroom as she stepped away from him. "Lucius... I... I think... that is... I don't think... I mean..." She paused in utter confusion and finally just said, "Goodnight, Lucius." She firmly closed the door.

Lucius stared at the closed door for a full minute, unsure what had just happened. Dear Merlin, had he nearly just kissed Hermione Granger?

* * *

Hermione stood with her back against the door, her heart pounding in her chest and the pulse echoing in her ears. Sweet Morgana! What was that? Had Lucius Malfoy just been about to kiss her? Would she have let him? Perhaps she'd imagined it. She'd never even considered it before, never thought of Lucius in that way. Had she? Well if she were being totally honest with herself, she had always thought he was a fine looking man, even when she hadn't liked him much. Now she couldn't help but think that maybe she could understand Lisa's attraction to the wizard. How on earth was she going to face him tomorrow?

* * *

The answer was simple. They both pretended that nothing had ever happened. Actually, nothing had, but it very easily could have and they both knew it.

The rest of Lucius' stay at the Granger's went smoothly. On Saturday there was a trip into town for lunch and tour of the woolen mill and gift shop. Lucius bought soft woolen scarves for Linda, Hermione, and Orrie. In spite of her naptime being delayed, Orrie managed fairly well, with no repeats of the tantrums of the night before. Once home, and after her nap, she and Linda baked her favorite ginger biscuits. Hermione slipped off to relax with one of her guilty pleasures, a raunchy romance novel from Linda's hidden collection. Meanwhile, John introduced Lucius to his computer and the wonders of the internet.

That night, after Orrie was tucked into bed Linda made tea and asked Lucius to join her. They sat at her cozy kitchen table with a pot of tea and freshly baked biscuits. She brought out a thick manila folder that was completely taped shut. It had his first name written boldly across the front in Elise's handwriting.

"I assume that Hermione told you about this," she said.

He stared at her blankly.

"Or... maybe not," she concluded. "I'm sorry. I just thought she would mention it."

"What's in here?" he asked. "Does Hermione know?"

"No, and neither do I. However, she now has a similar packet in her possession. Lisa left these two and another in my care with instructions. I received them from the lawyer after her death. I wasn't to give them out unless Orrie's father somehow came back into her life. Then, I was to give them to both of you." Linda pointed at the front of his where his name was written. "That wasn't there before. It just said 'Orrie's father'. I was surprised when I went to get it just now and saw your name there. I suppose she charmed it somehow to reveal your name at this time."

"You said you'd received three packets?" he asked, running his fingers over the handwriting on the front of his.

"Yes, the third one is for Orrie, and I'm to give it to her when she comes of age."

Lucius considered briefly and then said, "I would like to speak to Hermione about something. Is she in her room?"

"No, I think she's with John, playing some Star Wars video game." At Lucius' questioning look, she laughed. "They're both rather geeky and a little obsessed. I'll tell her you'd like a word."

A few minutes later Hermione came into the kitchen, looking a little apprehensive. "Lucius? Mum said you wanted to talk to me?" Looking down, she saw the folder on the table. "Oh, she gave you yours. Have you...?"

"No. I don't think I shall. Not here. I'd like to have my privacy when I read what's inside. I'll wait until I get home."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "I haven't opened mine, yet, either."

"There's something I have been thinking about, though, and the things I've learned here this weekend have convinced me to follow through with it. I know now, from talking with your mother that Elise believed that I didn't care for her, and that I had refused to acknowledge our child as my own daughter. Nothing could be farther from the truth." His face was pinched with pain.

"Lucius," Hermione said softly, laying her hand over his.

He ignored her, shrugging off her attempt to comfort him, and continued. "Hermione, none of us know what the future might bring, or even what tomorrow might bring. Elise didn't leave her home last summer thinking that she would never return, but that is what happened. Life is too short to put things off, especially important things like this. Orrie must know that I am her father and that I love her. Plus, I want to acknowledge her publicly and legally as my child."

"Lucius. We discussed this already. It's too soon. She won't understand. She's too young..." Hermione looked terrified.

"I'm determined, Hermione. It doesn't have to be today or tomorrow, but soon, very soon. I want to assure you that this will not change your position in her life. I'm not going to insist on her living with me now, but I want it to known by everyone, and especially by her, that she is mine. This will happen. I refuse to take no for an answer. We will tell her the truth."

He didn't even give her a chance to say anything. Lucius got up and stalked from the room.

TBC


	7. Chapter 6

A Gift of Love

Chapter 6

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own HP, I make no money from this work.

A/N: Many thanks go to my lovely helpers, my beta and Brit-picker: talesofsnape, and my alpha: morethansirius, their help and input were invaluable.

* * *

Lucius planned to leave after breakfast the next morning. He politely thanked the Grangers for their hospitality. He squatted down next to Orrie's chair to say goodbye.

He was surprised when she threw her arms around his neck in a strangle hold and mumbled through her mouthful of oatmeal, "Bye, Woocius... wuv you."

He was speechless for at least ten seconds, before he gave her a kiss on the cheek and replied, "Goodbye, sweetheart. I love you too. I'll see you soon, when you and your mum get home." She nodded and returned to her breakfast.

Turning, he said, "Hermione, if I might have a word with you before I leave? Please?"

Hermione had been uncharacteristically quiet this morning. She had barely said two words to Lucius. Still, at his request she nodded and led the way to her father's den. Lucius shut the door and cast a quick spell to keep their conversation private, just in case.

Hermione was studiously ignoring him. She wandered over to John's desk and began idly straightening up piles of paper. He came up behind her, touching her arm. She jumped and stepped away. "Hermione," he said, attempting to get her to look at him.

"Yes, Lucius, you wanted to say something?" she asked, as she continued to avoid him.

With a sigh, he grabbed her hand and led her around the desk. Seating himself in the chair, he set her in front of him, her bum perched against the edge of the desk. From this angle, looking down at him, it was much harder for her not to look him in the eye, but she was giving it her best shot. She appeared to be staring at something over his right shoulder. Taking both her hands in his, he swore, "Damn it all, woman. Will you just look at me?"

Her eyes finally connected with his briefly before darting away. She was still angry with him. That much was clear. "Just say whatever it is you need to say and go."

He gave her hands a squeeze, and he continued to hold them. "This is very difficult for me to say. I need to tell you, I'm sorry."

"What?" Her eyes were locked on his. He had her attention now.

"I'm sorry for the way I issued an ultimatum last night. I haven't changed my mind about the issue itself, mind you. I still feel the same way, but I realized that was entirely the wrong way to approach it."

"Lucius, we had agreed to decide together when to tell Orrie the truth. She's so young. She won't really understand it at all."

"Hermione, the longer we wait, and the older she gets, it will only get harder. She's young. It will be hard for her to understand, but she'll adjust to the idea. Children are very adaptable. The longer we wait the more she's going to resent that we didn't tell her, and what if something should happen? I can't take that chance."

"If something should happen? What are you talking about?" she asked, looking bewildered.

"It's like I said last night. Elise didn't know when she left here last July that she was never coming back. What if something were to happen to me? Orrie would grow up thinking I didn't care for her, that I was ashamed of her, that I put more stock in the idea of keeping my bloodlines pure than in my own child. That isn't true. It's not!" He was practically shouting.

Hermione laid her hand over his lips. She shook her head. "Shhhh... Lucius, don't." Her palm slipped up to cup the side of his face in a gentle caress. "First of all, nothing is going to happen to you, and secondly, I give you my word that I would make sure that Orrie knows the truth. I swear to you."

Lucius' hand covered hers and he turned his face and kissed the palm of her hand. "Thank you. Although I still want her to know the truth. Not just her, either. I want to acknowledge her publicly, and legally, too."

She pulled her hand out of his and clutched it to her heart. "I'm still not crazy about the whole idea, but I will admit that I can understand where you're coming from. Like you said, though, it doesn't have to be today, right?"

He stood then, looming over her. He bent in close to reply, "No not today, but soon, Hermione. Don't forget that part either... soon."

She leaned back on the desk and gazed up at him. He was so close to her he could hear the catch in her breath. At the same time he felt that same urge from the night before overtake him. He wanted nothing so much at that moment as to claim her lips with his. His head dipped down to hers, but just as his lips ghosted over hers, they were interrupted by a pounding of tiny fists against the door.

"Mum? Mummy? You in there?"

Lucius groaned, his forehead resting against hers for a moment. "Good Godric! That child has the most abominable timing in the world," he muttered, pulling away from Hermione.

* * *

For the next several weeks Hermione managed to avoid Lucius. For the first, time she arranged visits for Lucius and Orrie supervised by either Severus or one of the Potters without her presence. Then, over the past weekend Harry had hosted a surprise party for Pansy's birthday. It wasn't unusual that Severus and the Malfoys would be invited, so Hermione had considered that the group visitation for the week. It also gave her a reason to be busy as she was helping Harry with the party.

Lucius had tried to talk to her, but she managed to avoid him for most of the day. She knew there was a confrontation coming. She just didn't know when or where.

She was just so confused. The first time he had almost kissed her, she'd managed to convince herself that it was her imagination and that she had misinterpreted his actions. The second time, however, there was no mistaking what was going on. If Orrie had not come pounding at the door, there definitely would have been kissing going on. There was no denying it, and she would have been an extremely willing participant.

The problem was, now that she'd had time to think about it, she was both intrigued and terrified at the same time. This was not some boy she'd gone to school with, or one of the many wild young men she'd dated after the war, or even Viktor Krum, who was much more worldly than all the others. This was Lucius Malfoy, premier pureblood and former Death Eater. She felt like opposite poles of a magnet, both attracted and repelled, depending which way she turned.

It also didn't help matters that she had opened the packet from Lisa to find copies of her friend's journals, prefaced by a letter telling her not to make any judgments until she'd read them all. This was hard to do when the very first journal told of how Lisa had come to meet Lucius on the night her parents and brother were killed in Voldemort's name. It was very hard for Hermione to keep an open mind when she kept thinking about how she would have felt, being rescued by one of the Death Eaters from the very raiding party that had murdered her family.

Hermione, who was by nature a voracious reader and normally could have read the entire series of journals in a matter of a day or two, found herself hard pressed to continue. Still, she figured her friend had reasons for wanting Hermione to see Lucius through Lisa's eyes. To understand how they had gone from a beginning like that to eventually becoming an unofficial couple. She'd been surprised to learn that they had not even begun their affair until well after the war had ended, nearly three years later. So much for the idea of blaming Lucius for taking advantage of her. Although Lisa had remained in Lucius' safe house and under his protection, they had not become lovers until August of 1998. Hermione had managed to get through to the part just before Lisa left England.

* * *

She was distracted by the fact that she was thinking of these journals when she returned home and entered her kitchen. She nearly had a coronary to find Severus Snape sitting on the granite counter top of her kitchen island, calmly eating a nectarine from her fruit bowl and thumbing thorough her mail.

"Holy Hades, Severus! You nearly scared the pants off me! I gave you access to my wards for emergencies, not so you could break into my home to eat my fruit and read my mail. What is wrong with you?" she screeched.

"Calm down, Granger, you sound like a banshee," he replied, flicking his wand to lift the lid of the kitchen bin as he tossed the pit from the nectarine across the room hitting it square on. "What is going on with you and Lucius? You are both acting very strangely since returning from that weekend in Ireland a a while back."

"None of your business," she replied, and then tried to divert his attention by changing the subject. "Get your arse off my counter."

"No."

"No?" She stomped over to him and tried to pull him off, but he resisted. "I said get off of there, Severus."

"And I said no."

She narrowed her eyes and glowered at him. "Snape," she growled warningly.

"Grangerrrr," he growled right back at her.

She decided to change tactics and try reasoning with him. "Severus, get off my counter. You wouldn't like it if I came to your potions lab and parked my bum in the middle of your workspace."

"I don't think I'd really have a problem with you parking your bum anywhere you want around my place," he responded smoothly. "In fact, I can think of several places I would love to see it parked."

She frowned at him and stepped closer. She placed her hand on his forehead. Then she leaned forward to sniff his breath. "You don't feel feverish, and I don't smell any alcohol. Have you been hexed?"

"No, I haven't been hexed." Snagging her hand and removing it from his forehead, he asked, "Why would you ask that?"

"Because it almost seemed for a moment there like you were attempting, and very badly I must say, to flirt with me. I'm not your type, Severus. I'm not one of your little chippies." Hermione pulled up a bar stool and sat at the end of the counter.

"No, you're not and I should have known that you wouldn't be interested."

"That isn't what I said at all, Severus. Don't go trying to put words in my mouth." Where was all this coming from and, more importantly, where was it leading to? She looked at him closely and laid her hand on his knee. "Why do you do it, Severus? Why do you go with all those women? They're only using you. They don't care, you know?"

He finally slid off her counter, "Of course they don't, because no one would ever really want me." He moved to walk away.

Hermione grabbed his arm, jerking him back. "There you go putting words in my mouth again. That is not what I said and that's not what I meant. There are plenty of women who would love to be with you, but sadly, they aren't the ones you're with. You're with the ones who are only there because they want to be seen with the war hero, the master spy. They want everyone to know that they're getting fucked by the dark, dangerous Death Eater."

"Men oftentimes don't care, Granger. They just want to get laid," he said crudely.

"Sometimes, women just want to get laid, too, Severus. Eventually, though, you will come to realize that it's all pretty cold and meaningless, if nobody gives a damn about who you really are."

"Oh, and this is from the voice of experience, I suppose?" he sneered, pulling away from her.

"Actually, yes, it is," she replied softly.

Her words stopped him in his tracks as he turned to look at her closely. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You weren't around after the war ended, Severus. By the time you'd recovered, I'm sure all the stories had died down, but I actually went a bit crazy for a while after the end of it all."

"What are you talking about?" He pulled up a bar stool and sat at the end of the counter. "Are you putting me on?"

She smiled rather sadly and shook her head. "It was a crazy time. So many people I knew were dead and, somehow, I was alive. I don't know, maybe it was survivor's guilt, or post traumatic stress, or some other bit of post-war psycho-babble. I really hadn't thought about what would happen after, you see. I think maybe deep down, I didn't think I'd ever live to see it myself.

"Then, suddenly everyone wanted us. Ron had Lavender, and I never thought I'd say this, but she grounded him and gave him a purpose. Harry had got rather used to all the attention since learning at eleven that he was the-boy-who-lived, so he managed fairly well."

Hermione had to do something with her hands so she picked up an orange from the bowl of fruit and started peeling it. "I was overwhelmed by it all, though. Suddenly Gryffindor's Golden Girl was in big demand, and not for her brain. Lots of guys wanted to go out with me then, and it made me feel wanted and desirable. It was a different man every week, sometimes more than one. My life was a mad, mad whirl.

"Eventually, though, I came to the realization that no matter how many men I slept with, I was still alone in the end. None of them really cared about me. They just wanted to be seen in public with a celebrity. They wanted to be able to brag to all their friends that they'd fucked Harry Potter's best friend. None of them knew me at all, not the real me, and they didn't want to."

"So the voice of experience was a fairly apt description," he said gently.

"Ummm... That's putting it mildly, I'd say," she replied. "I'm not saying the sex itself is wrong. Like you said, sometimes people just want to get laid. There's nothing wrong with that, but what you're doing, what I did... that's self destructive, Severus. You deserve so much better than that. I'm not saying you have to settle down with a wife and a white picket fence, but at least start dating women who like you for you. There are lots of them out there. Take my word for it."

Severus' hand stopped hers as she reached for another orange to peel. When she looked up at him with a frown, his downward glance directed her to the three oranges that were already peeled and divided neatly into sections. With a grin, she held up a piece of fruit, "Orange, Severus? There's plenty."

They both laughed and sat in companionable silence for a few minutes eating orange slices. Finally Severus turned to her and asked, "So, Granger, would you say that you're someone who likes me for who I am?"

She smiled. "Yes, I do Severus. I do very much." What she was saying was true. After working with him the first time, she never would have thought the day would come when she would say that. However, this time around, she had got to know him fairly well and she found that she actually did like him very much.

"Would you go out to dinner with me?" he asked. "Just dinner, no strings attached, but just the two of us, no group outing and no Orrie, just you and me."

Hermione looked up at him, ready to answer in the affirmative, but then she paused. Her finger traced over her lips as she thought for a moment. "Damn," she said softly. "I really wish that you had asked me that question about three weeks ago, Severus."

Severus looked disappointed. "I take that to mean there is someone else."

"Not exactly, but sort of. I'm really not entirely sure. It's all very confusing for me right now. I just don't think I can complicate matters more by going out with you when I don't know for sure how I feel about this other person. I'm really sorry, Severus."

"It's my own fault for waiting too long. I should have listened to Lucius."

Hermione had gathered up the peels to carry over to the rubbish. "Lucius?" She stopped abruptly and turned at Severus' comment. "What has Lucius got to do with any of this?"

"Oh, he's been hounding me for months. Since my birthday, actually, trying to get me to ask you out."

Severus didn't look up so he didn't see her face go pale. "Why on earth would he do that?"

"At first he tried to tell me that you had a 'thing' for me. Then he tried to convince me of how much we have in common. In the end, though, I finally got him to admit the truth. He was worried that, having Orrie in your life, you might get all broody and maternal and want to settle down. He didn't want some other man raising his daughter and he thought if he could manage to get the two of us together, even if only temporarily, at least for a while he wouldn't have to worry about it. All that aside, what he said got me thinking that the two of us really do have a lot in common. Too bad I waited so long to figure that part out."

Hermione's mind was racing a hundred miles an hour. Was that what had happened? Lucius thought he couldn't convince Severus to take up with her, so he decided to play it safe and come on to her himself. Here she had been agonizing over what was going on between them and in reality there was nothing going on. It was all just some kind of twisted game. Hermione stood at the sink, pretending to wash her hands but in reality she was agonizing over what she'd just learned. "Oh dear gods! What a fucking idiot I am!" she muttered to herself.

"What?" Severus was right behind her. She hadn't heard him get up and she jumped in surprise.

"I... ah... I... didn't realize how late it was. Sorry, Severus. I have to go pick up Orrie from Pansy's. You can let yourself out, yes? Make sure you reset the wards when you leave," she called as she hurried from the room before he could ask her anything else.

* * *

Hermione arrived at the Potters' to find the place in utter pandemonium. She was one of the few people allowed to Apparate directly to their doorstep. When she popped in to being there this time, the only things protecting her from being swarmed by the mob of reporters were Harry's well-placed wards. They were forced to stand at the edge of the front walk and shout.

"Miss Granger, is it true?"

"We have information that you are raising Lucius Malfoy's lovechild."

"Where is this child's mother?

"Who is she?"

"Would you like to make a statement?"

"Miss Granger... Miss Granger!"

She had barely landed when the door opened and an arm sneaked out to jerk her inside.

Hermione faced a wide-eyed Pansy and gasped, "Pans, what the hell is going on out there?"

"It's bad, Hermione, really bad. I'm so glad you're here. The fact that Lucius is Orrie's father got leaked to the press.

"Harry took her down to Diagon Alley after her nap to get an ice cream at Fortescue's. Apparently, there was a special edition of the _Prophet_ published, just to break the news. They were spotted and someone recognized her from the picture."

"Where's Orrie? Is she okay?" demanded Hermione.

"Shhh... she's fine. Harry's upstairs with her and Rose. She really didn't understand what it was all about and Harry got her back home here right away, but..." Pansy paused looking worried.

"But what, Pansy?"

"But that's not all. It gets worse—much worse."

"Worse?" Hermione practically shouted. "How could it possibly be worse?"

"Sit. I'll tell you everything. You know that my friend Millie works down in the public records department at the Ministry?" Hermione nodded. "Well, she heard all about this on her afternoon break. Apparently Lucius' lawyers submitted these documents just after lunchtime, right after the information about Lucius' paternity got leaked. When Millie got back to her desk, and was doing her filing she came across them. She could lose her job for giving these to me, Hermione. She knows how close we are and she knows how we feel about you and Orrie. You have to promise not to tell anyone where these copies came from."

Hermione sprang to her feet, she loved her friend, but she was about ready to strangle her. "Pansy, for fuck's sake! I promise not to tell. What the hell is in them?"

Pansy swallowed hard and looked like she might be sick. She pushed the parchments across the table toward Hermione. "They are court documents. One is a statement naming Orrie as an official Malfoy heir. The second is a petition to the court, filing for the sole custody of Orrie, both are signed by Lucius Malfoy."

Hermione collapsed back into her chair in disbelief. She pulled the document over to her, but was so distraught, she couldn't seem to focus to make any sense of it.

"Hermione, I am so sorry. I feel responsible. I'm the one who told you to give that rotten bastard a chance. I can't believe he would do this to you." Pansy eyes were filled with tears.

"It's not your fault, Pansy. You didn't do this. Lucius Malfoy did. It was all a pack of lies—everything he did—everything he said. He was just lulling me into a false sense of security, and all the while he was setting this up behind the scenes. He was just waiting for the right time to spring it. He was even gracious to my parents, that lying snake. I can't believe I fell for everything he said. I was actually starting to like him. I am such a stupid fool!"

Hermione gathered up her jacket and her bag. "I need to take Orrie home," she said, standing up.

"Hermione, wait. What are you going to do? Don't do anything rash," begged Pansy.

"Don't be silly, Pans. All I'm doing is taking my daughter home. Right now, I just want her safe at home. We'll use your Floo. I can't take her out through that mob."

"Of course, you can use the Floo." Pansy looked worried. "Hermione, are you sure you aren't planning something? Please, don't do something you'll regret."

Hermione looked at her friend and gave her a hug. "Thanks so much for all you've done, Pansy. You and Harry are the best friends a girl could have. I love you both."

"Hermione..."

"Don't ask, Pansy. Just don't ask. It's called plausible deniability. If you don't know, you won't be forced to lie."

Hermione headed up the stairs to gather up Orrie. She found her with Harry, playing in Rose's room. They both looked up when she entered.

"Hey, sweetie. Did you have a fun day with Uncle Harry and Aunt Pansy and Rosie?" Orrie nodded with a smile. "That's good. We're going home now. Can you go get your backpack from the guest room and gather up all your stuff before we go? I'll come help you in a minute. I need to talk to Uncle Harry first, okay?"

As soon as Orrie left the room, Harry stepped close to Hermione. Taking her hand, he reassured her, "Hermione, he's not going to win this. You are her legal guardian, her adoptive mother, designated by her own mum. They are not going to take her away from you."

Hermione shook her head and looked at him sadly. "And he is Lucius Malfoy, her biological father. Even though our side won, Harry, this world is still run by pureblood rules. If it comes down to it, there's Malfoy blood in her veins. They'll never let me keep her."

"Hermione." Harry choked on her name. "Please don't do something stupid. Please. I can't lose you."

"And I can't give her up. I promised Lisa that I'd look out for Orrie and protect her. I love her more than I ever thought possible." Hermione took a deep shuddering breath and blinked back tears. "We've been through so much together, you and I." Hermione caressed his face and looked up at him with big brown eyes.

"Hermione, don't..." Harry moaned. He wrapped his arms around her and she hugged him back.

She whispered to him, "I want you to know, Harry Potter, that you are the best..." She choked back a sob, and her voice quavered as she continued, "...the best friend I've ever had in the whole world. I love you, Harry." She buried her face against his chest and struggled to hold back her sobs because Orrie was just in the next room.

Harry squeezed her even more tightly and whispered, "I love you too, Hermione."

"Mummy, whassa-matter? Is you cryin'?"

Taking a deep breath Hermione pulled away and wiped her eyes. "No, honey, I had something in my eye and Uncle Harry was trying to help me get it out. It'll be fine. I'll wash it out well when we get home. Did you get everything? Let's go check one more time to make sure. Give Uncle Harry a big hug and a kiss goodbye."

* * *

It was only a couple of hours later that Malfoy Manor was invaded by an avenging angel by the name of Pansy Patrice Parkinson Potter. Harry showed up right after she did, having taken the time to drop Rose off at Ron and Lavender's flat. He had tried to convince his wife to let it rest for a day or two and give Hermione a chance to calm down before Pansy confronted Lucius. However, when his wife was determined there was no stopping her, so he followed behind as backup. He didn't want her doing something foolish to Lucius that would end in her being sentenced to Azkaban.

Severus showed up at exactly the same time that Harry arrived at the Malfoy's front door. "What are you doing here, Potter?"

"Pansy's come to rip Lucius a new arsehole. I thought I'd better make sure she doesn't do anything that results in Rosie and me having to make weekly visits to a rock in the North Sea for the next fifty years."

"Hmmm... yes, I've seen the papers. It is a mess, but I really don't think Lucius was responsible for that information getting out."

"Oh, that is the very least of our problems. Believe me, you don't even know the half of it," muttered Harry. He pushed past the house-elf now holding the door open, following the dulcet tones of his lovely wife swearing a blue streak.

Severus frowned and hurried in after him.

They found Pansy in the dining room with Draco pinned to the wall, her wand at his throat. "Where is he, Draco? Where is your lying, scheming, rat-bastard of a father? You tell me now or, I swear to hell and Helga Hufflepuff, I will tear this manor apart stone by stone until I find him!"

"What is going on here?" Lucius stood in the doorway, looking cool, calm and collected.

"YOU!" screeched Pansy, lunging towards him.

"Pansy! No!" She was stopped by both Harry and Draco grabbing a hold of her, as Severus moved to stand next to Lucius.

"You bastard, how could you do this to her—to them? I convinced her to trust you, to give you a chance, and this is how you repay that trust!"

"Miss Parkin... that is, Mrs. Potter. I assure you that I did not release the information about Orrie's paternity. However, it was knowledge that was soon going to be made public, anyway. While this is inconvenient, it is not the end of the world."

"I am not talking about that and you bloody well know it, you son of a bitch!"

"Then what, pray tell, are you referring to, my dear?" Lucius asked calmly, looking slightly puzzled.

"I'm talking about the custody papers you filed at the ministry today. I'm talking about you petitioning the court for sole custody of Orrie. I'm talking about you trying to take that little girl away from her. That's what I'm fucking talking about, you cold-blooded arsehole!"

Just as Pansy made another attempt to get at Lucius, the three were shocked by the sight of Snape slamming Lucius back against the wall just as Pansy had pinned Draco moments before.

"What. Have. You. Done. Lucius?" he ground out each word threateningly.

Lucius roughly pushed Severus away. He straightened his robes, and replied, "I don't know what she's talking about. I've done nothing of the sort. I merely filed papers to have Orrie immediately named as an official Malfoy heir, the same as Draco. She now has full rights to her inheritance, as she should."

"Liar!" cried Pansy. "I've seen the petition myself, and you signed it."

Lucius looked at her. She seemed so positive. He suddenly didn't seem so sure of himself. "I'm sure there has been some mistake."

"Yes, there has been. Me putting my trust in you to do the right thing, that was the mistake," spat out Pansy as she broke loose from Draco's grasp and, pulling the papers from her pocket, flung them on the table.

Lucius pulled the parchment to him and scanned it quickly. His face paled as he read it and he sank down into the chair, staring at it in disbelief.

"Are you going to deny it now?" demanded Pansy.

"This isn't possible," insisted Lucius, his eyes scanning it again. "This simply isn't possi... Here, look here at the date."

They all leaned over the table to see where he was pointing. January 3, 2005.

"I did have these drawn up back then, before I ever confronted Hermione. That first day I went there, I did intend to demand custody, but then the things you and Severus said to me convinced me to wait. After that very first visitation, I realized that you both were right, and even if I didn't care about Hermione, I could never hurt Orrie like that. I instructed my lawyers then that I had changed my mind and to discard the plan. I can only guess that, rather than destroy these papers, they put them into her file. When her paternity was revealed today, I contacted them and told them to file the papers that declared her an heir immediately. They must have pulled this out of her file too and sent it all over to the Ministry."

"So, it really was just a mistake," said Draco in relief. "See, Pans, everything's going to be okay."

"We need to let Hermione know, right away. If she still thinks Lucius is trying to take Orrie from her, she's liable to do something desperate," said Harry.

Pansy sank into the chair across the table from Lucius and covered her face with her hands. She looked up at her husband in despair. "Oh, Harry, it's already too late. Don't you see? Didn't you realize? When she picked up Orrie at our house earlier, before she left... Harry... she was saying goodbye. They're gone. I'm sure of it, they're already gone."

She turned toward Lucius and pointed at the date on the petition. "When you left that day in January, she confided in me, she said: '..._ if I every get so much as a hint that he is trying to take Orrie away from me; we're gone. I will take her and disappear into the Muggle world so fast and so deep, no one will ever find us again.' _You really don't know Hermione Granger at all, Lucius, if you don't think she was serious. She is a mother protecting her child. She's already gone, I guarantee it."

* * *

What Pansy said proved to be true.

Lucius immediately tried to Floo to Hermione's house, but the Floo was blocked, even when Harry tried, and he swore Hermione had never blocked the Floo to him in the entire time they had known each other.

The entire group then Apparated to Hermione's house to find it empty. Lucius dashed through the house, calling her name, but there was no answer. Even more telling than the fact that neither Hermione nor Orrie were there was the fact that none of Orrie's favorite things were either. Her books, her toys, her blinky, Malfoy Bear and Foxy Lucy—they were all gone.

They all came running at Pansy's cry of dismay, to find her standing next to the fireplace holding Hermione's wand in her hand.

"Bloody hell! Granger, you idiot!" swore Severus.

"She really must intend to go Muggle, if she left her wand behind," said Draco. "We'll never find her now."

"How did she leave without her wand?" wondered Lucius. "She has no personal Muggle means of transportation like an automobile. She would have to use public services: taxis, trains, planes, and the like. Draco, go back to the manor and contact Mac Fletcher. Have him go there as soon as possible. He has the means to pick up her trail. I'll not wait until it's too late this time."

"Wait," cried Harry. "I don't know about this. I know Hermione better than anyone and I don't think she would leave without her wand, even if she were hiding in the Muggle world. Unless..."

"Unless, what, Potter?" snarled Snape.

"Unless she left it behind to intentionally mislead us into thinking exactly what we're thinking. This is _her_ wand. It's registered. Of course she wouldn't want to use it. It would be too easy to trace. She must have another wand hidden somewhere, an unregistered one. She wouldn't have used it here because she knows that the Aurors might be able to pick up the magical residue and put a trace on it, too."

"Can they really do that?" asked Pansy.

Harry nodded. "It's a fairly new charm. Ron told us about it. It's kind of iffey, but they have had some success with it. Knowing that, I don't think she'd risk using a wand, even an unregistered one."

"So how did she leave without her wand? We're back to either Muggle public transportation or..." Lucius paused and glanced at the Floo.

Severus completed his thought. "The Floo... but that could likely easily be traced as well. A Portkey! If she created a Portkey and set it to activate at a specific time, she wouldn't need her wand. She'd just need to make sure they were both touching it at the appropriate moment."

Lucius paced in front of the hearth as he hypothesized. "So, while we're wasting our time searching for her trail through Muggle means, she has time to hide them both through magical means. The Fidelius! If she manages to get to a Secret-Kept House it will be almost impossible to find them. Unless I can get to her Secret-Keeper."

All eyes turned to Harry.

"Sorry. I know I'm the obvious choice. I'll be honest if it was me I'd never betray her, but, let's face it, Hermione isn't stupid. She wouldn't go with the obvious. It has to be someone else."

Lucius took charge. "Draco, go back to the manor and contact Fletcher as I suggested. Explain the situation to him. You may be completely frank. Tell him I want him to start searching for their whereabouts. It's best to cover all possibilities. I want to examine the house more closely first. Then I will to start searching myself. I do not intend to waste any time in recovering both Hermione and my daughter."

Just before Apparating away, Draco, Harry and Pansy paused on the path outside the house.

Pansy looked at both Harry and Draco and asked, "So did either of you notice anything strange about Lucius when we first got here?"

They both looked at each other then back at her, puzzled by her question.

"So, am I the only one who finds it just a little bit odd that with Lucius frantic to find his daughter, upon our arrival here it wasn't Orrie's name he called, over and over? It was Hermione's."

* * *

After thoroughly examining the house, Lucius wandered into the kitchen to find Severus sitting on a stool at the counter. He was idly flicking a dried up orange wedge that lay there, causing it to spin in lazy circles.

"Severus? Do you intend to sit here playing with fruit, or are you going to help me get them back?"

Severus looked up and studied his friend for a moment before responding. "I'm going to help find them, Lucius, but not for you. There's something you should know."

TBC


	8. Chapter 7

A Gift of Love

Chapter 7

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own HP, I make no money from this work.

A/N: Many thanks go to my lovely helpers, my beta and Brit-picker: talesofsnape, and my alpha: morethansirius, their help and input were invaluable.

* * *

Hermione had wasted no time upon arriving home from Harry and Pansy's house. She informed Orrie that they were going on a surprise holiday. In a whirlwind of activity, with the help of magic, she had everything they would need packed within an hour. Luckily, she had given this a lot of thought back when Lucius first showed up on the scene and she had made an escape plan in case it ever became necessary. Even though things had seemed to be going well with Lucius as of late, she had never dismantled her back-up plans. She thanked her lucky stars for Mad-Eye Moody's 'constant vigilance' training, that and the girl guides' motto, 'be prepared'. She'd lived her life by both.

She had funds, both wizard and Muggle, a spare unregistered wand stashed where she could pick it up along the way, and a safe house ready and waiting. She just had to contact her Secret-Keeper. She knew everyone would assume it was Harry, and even though she trusted Harry with her life, she'd figured he would be the obvious choice, and what she needed was to avoid the obvious.

Hermione stood in the living room of her home and sadly looked around one last time. She had loved living here. It was the first home she'd ever had of her very own. She didn't really know now if she would ever be able to come back here. With a sigh, she took out her wand and transfigured the picture of her and Lisa and Orrie into the first Portkey. She then transfigured the picture of her and Viktor into the second Portkey, timed to go off about two hours after they arrived at their first destination. That would give her enough time to retrieve the wand, false ID's and other things she had hidden there. Plus, Orrie would be able to rest for a bit as she was unused to Portkey travel. She carefully slipped the second Portkey into her bottomless bag.

Then she looked at her wand. She knew using it on the run would be foolish. It was registered and any magic done with it would be easy to trace. Originally she had planned on breaking it and leaving it behind in a show of defiance. Now that the time had come, however, she just didn't have the heart to break it. She stroked it lovingly before she laid it carefully on the mantle and turned away to gather Orrie in her arms.

"We're going on an adventure, sweetheart, just the two of together. Won't that be fun?"

Orrie nodded but looked a little sad. "Can Sev'wus come with us?"

Hermione shook her head. "Not this time. It's just us."

"How about Woo-cius?"

"Nope. Not him either. We'll have fun, you'll see. Here now, hold onto this with me," she said, placing Orrie's hand on the Portkey and putting hers over top of it to make sure.

* * *

Lucius and Severus arrived together at the cottage in Foxford. Lucius was almost disappointed when he got there and could see it clearly. It obviously wasn't Secret-Kept. He had thought perhaps Hermione would use this as her hideout. It was close to her parents. They would be willing to help her and protect her and Orrie, just as they had done for Elise. Still, she might have come here, so they needed to check it out.

He approached the door and tried to open it to find it locked. Not unexpected. He cast an Alohomora and walked inside. Everything seemed as it had when he had been here several weeks ago. Still, it wouldn't do to overlook any details. Severus announced he was going to check outside.

Lucius was more than a little put out with his friend. For weeks, no in truth months, he had tried to convince Severus that Hermione was perfect for him and the stubborn idiot had completely rejected the idea. Now, however, when Lucius had come to the realization that Hermione was exactly what he himself wanted in a witch and had decided to pursue her, Severus does a complete turn around and declares the same. They had nearly come to fisticuffs back in her kitchen when Severus had told him, but in the end they decided to work together and let their love lives sort themselves out afterward, once they had the witch back to fight over.

"They were here," said Lucius when Severus returned. He held up a pink hummingbird barrette. "This is Orrie's. It was here on the couch."

"Are you sure? That could easily have been lying here since last summer."

Lucius shook his head. "No, she was wearing it last weekend. Plus, I found this." He held up the picture of Orrie with Elise and Hermione. "This was on Hermione's mantle at home and there wasn't a copy of it when I was here a few weeks ago. She must have used this as the Portkey.

"I think we need to talk to the Grangers," said Lucius.

"Do you think it wise to involve them?" asked Severus.

"I think they need to know about the misunderstanding. That way if... when Hermione contacts them, they can tell her the truth about what happened." Lucius hesitated. Then he turned to his friend. "She will contact them, eventually, won't she? She wouldn't just disappear forever, without a trace."

Severus just shrugged with a grimace. "I don't know what she might do, Lucius. She's a woman and she's desperate. That is a decidedly bad combination."

They found the Grangers' home locked up tight, and no one inside when they searched it.

"Maybe they went with her and Orrie," suggested Severus.

"It's possible," agreed Lucius. Then he shook his head with a frown. "No, I remember. When I was here with Hermione, they spoke about going on an extended trip in a few weeks. Hermione said that they enjoy travel and go several times a year."

"Where were they going? Perhaps she's going to meet them at their destination."

Lucius shook his head. "No, they were taking a cruise. She couldn't just show up with a small child on a cruise ship. They wouldn't be able to explain that to a ship full of Muggles."

* * *

Hermione had gathered all the things she needed from the cottage in Foxford. Her parents had gone away on a cruise for several weeks. She considered leaving them a note, but she decided just to wait until they returned to contact them.

The time she had arranged for the second Portkey was getting close so she retrieved it from her bag and gathered Orrie, who was not too thrilled with the idea. She had thrown up when they arrived and complained of a headache and dizziness afterward. Hermione had little choice as she didn't want to use the new wand until they'd left Ireland. She had just got Orrie situated to get a grip on the edge of the picture and they were waiting to leave when Hermione heard the pop of Apparition outside. Glancing quickly towards the front window, through the lace curtains, she saw Lucius and Severus out in front of the cottage. She could hear them talking but couldn't make out their words.

She saw them approaching the door and her heart pounded in panic. How in hell had they found her so quickly? Should she try to run out the back and hope the Portkey activated before they found her? Should she pull out her new wand... and do what? Duel with Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy with her daughter in her arms... not likely. She heard the rattle of the knob as one of them tried the door, and she looked wildly around the cottage. She noticed the other picture that she'd used for a Portkey sitting on the end table just as the one they were holding on to activated and they were whisked away.

* * *

When they arrived at their destination, Orrie's reaction to the second Portkey transport was much worse than the first time. She was violently ill, vomiting several times until there was nothing left but dry heaves. The original plan had been to Apparate immediately to her Secret-Keeper's home. He would then direct them to their safe house, but with Orrie being so sick, Hermione didn't dare risk it.

Hermione, as usual, was prepared for the unexpected and pulled out a tour book of the area. In short order, she found a Muggle hotel not far away on the south bank of the Danube. It claimed that it was surrounded by a park and had peaceful rooms. She walked the four blocks to the Hotel TangRa and before they went in she transfigured her bag and Orrie's backpack into luggage so as not to look suspicious. They checked in and got settled with no problem.

From her emergency supplies, Hermione produced some ginger tea and crackers for Orrie to try to settle her stomach and then got her tucked into bed with a story. Not having access to an owl or a Floo, she sent a Patronus message to her Secret-Keeper, "Sorry, we have been delayed. Orrie didn't take well to Portkey travel and needs to rest for a bit. We're at the Hotel TangRa in Vidin—will meet you in two days at the flat in Drobeta-Turnu Severin as originally planned. I am grateful for all of your help."

* * *

Lucius sat behind his desk, while Severus paced around the room, hands clasped behind his back, apparently deep in thought. They had just finished a meeting with Mac Fletcher that hadn't yielded any encouraging news. He had been unable to find any signs of Hermione having left the country by Muggle means. Mac was in the process now of following up on a lead in Liverpool, where there had been a reported sighting of a woman and child matching their description. He had a theory that she had never left the country and was actually hiding in plain sight.

Lucius looked like death warmed over, dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep, his face scruffy with two days growth of beard and his usually shiny hair now lank and tied back. If Lucius was death, Severus was death's brother, as he hardly looked any better. They were both exhausted. Severus sank into the chair across from Lucius' desk.

Just then the Floo flared to life. Harry Potter's voice called out from the hearth, "Lucius, are you there? I've got a lead."

Lucius and Severus both jumped to their feet. "Come through now, Potter," commanded Lucius.

Harry stepped through, brushing some soot off his sleeve.

Lucius and Severus spoke at the same time.

"What is it?"

"Have you heard from Hermione?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't know what to make of this, but I have a bad feeling."

"What is it Potter? Get to the point!" snapped Severus.

"I just got a message from Victor Krum. It seems that Hermione was supposed to meet him three days ago. However, she sent a message to say that she'd been delayed, and told him where she was staying. She said she would meet him in two days at the same location they had originally planned. She never showed up. He waited all night, thinking maybe she'd been delayed again, but when he'd heard nothing by this morning he went to the hotel she said she was at. She's not there. He got worried and contacted me, wanting to know if I'd heard from her."

"Krum?" questioned Severus. "Is it possible he could be her Secret-Keeper?"

Without hesitation, Harry nodded. "Yes, I think it's entirely possible. They were very good friends. They corresponded regularly after the year of Tri-Wizard-Tournament, and all through the rest of our time at Hogwarts."

"I saw a picture at her house of them together. It looked more recent than that," said Lucius.

"Well, a couple years after the war ended, they became closer." Harry looked a bit uncomfortable to be discussing his friend's private life with these two men. "I'd say they were a lot more than just friends. I believe it's highly likely that she asked Viktor to be her Secret-Keeper. I don't think he would have refused her anything. Truth be told, when they went their separate ways, it was more her choice than his."

"Did Krum say anything about Orrie?" asked Lucius.

"Yes, Hermione mentioned her in the message she sent him, but there is no sign of either of them now."

"Where is Krum now? We need to talk to him and see what he knows," said Severus.

"Vidin, Bulgaria. He said to meet him at the Hotel TangRa. That's where Hermione was staying," said Harry. "I'm going with you."

"Potter..." Severus started, looking as though he were going to object.

Lucius caught his eye and shook his head. "We need all the help we can get, from the people who know Hermione best, even if it means working with Potter and Krum."

Turning to Harry, Lucius said bluntly, "You understand this, though, Potter. We intend to do whatever it takes—and I mean that literally. Legal or illegal, Light Magic or Dark Magic—whatever is necessary—we will not hesitate to use it to find Hermione and my daughter."

"I'm fine with that. I'll do whatever it takes to bring Hermione and Orrie home safely. Like I said before, Malfoy, I have a bad feeling about this. Hermione had a plan to keep Orrie safe, but something's gone wrong, and my gut tells me they're both in danger."

Lucius and Severus both looked at each other grimly. They were thinking the same thing.

Lucius nodded and said, "Gather whatever you think you may need and we'll all meet back here and leave within the hour. I'll let Draco know what's going on and where to reach us in case he gets any new information."

* * *

Hermione cuddled Orrie on her lap, trying to keep the little girl calm, while at the same time feverishly trying to figure a way out of this nightmare. She'd studied the room where they were being held, but could find no means of escape. Her wand, of course, had been confiscated along with her bag. A quick search of Orrie's backpack had yielded nothing more dangerous than her precious Malfoy Bear and Foxy Lucy along with her baby blanket, so he had left that with them.

She went over in her mind everything that had happened, mentally kicking herself for not doing things differently and trying figure a way out of the situation.

That first night after she'd sent her message off to Viktor she'd slept like the dead. She'd been totally exhausted, and no wonder. She'd gone from talking with Severus in her kitchen just after noon, to learning that Lucius had been trying to push her off on Severus since January. Then the news from Pansy that Lucius was trying to get full custody of Orrie had come as such a shock! After that, within an hour she had packed up Orrie and gone hop scotching across Europe by evening. Plus, somewhere in the middle of it all, she had barely missed being caught in Ireland. Of course she was exhausted after a day like that. Who wouldn't be?

They'd both slept late the next day. Orrie had felt better, but still a little queasy, so Hermione had ordered tea and toast from room service and they had quiet morning, resting up. By lunchtime Orrie was feeling better and Hermione decided that it would do her good to get some air so they'd walked around the neighborhood. They got a bowl of soup for lunch at a nearby cafe and had done some window shopping. All the while they were shopping, though, Hermione had an uneasy feeling, like someone was watching her. Finally too nervous to stay out on the street, she had headed back to the hotel, stopping on the way at a little deli to buy some sandwiches and fruit to eat in their room.

Even after they were back in their room Hermione had felt so unsettled that she had seriously considered leaving directly from there and Apparating to Viktor's flat, but Orrie had complained of her headache coming back and Hermione hadn't wanted to take a chance of making her ill again so she'd decided to leave the next day as planned.

Dear gods! If only she'd trusted her instincts and left then, everything would have been fine and they would be tucked away in their safe-house now. Instead, they'd spent another night. Hermione hadn't slept like the first night, though. Instead, she'd spent most of the night with her back propped up against the headboard, her wand clutched in her hand, jumping at every little noise.

The next day, she'd actually felt a little silly about her paranoia of the previous day. So, when Orrie had asked if they could go across the street to play in the park for a bit, Hermione had agreed. They weren't supposed to meet Viktor until mid-afternoon so she'd thought it wouldn't hurt to let Orrie burn off some of her energy. Hermione was still very careful, surveying the park from the window of their room before they even left the hotel. She'd been watching carefully for a shock of platinum hair or billowing black robes—or possibly a trench coat in lieu of robes—but she hadn't seen anything suspicious. In fact, she'd been caught totally off guard when a rather disheveled, heavyset man had passed them on the path, and then had suddenly turned, grabbing them both and with a quick turn on his heel had Apparated them away in broad daylight.

He'd brought them directly here to this room and had immediately taken her wand. He'd then shoved her roughly away so hard she'd hit the wall with a thud. Orrie, frightened by this, began to cry and that monster had slapped her.

Hermione had flown at him in a rage. "Don't you dare touch her! Get away from her!" she'd screamed, hitting him with her fists and scratching his face. This only proved to anger the brute and he'd backhanded her as well.

When Orrie wailed even louder, he'd turned on her and snarled, "I said shut up, girly. Or I'll give you something to cry about." He had stepped threateningly towards her.

Hermione had got between Orrie and the man. "Leave her alone. She's only a little girl. Who are you? Why are you doing this to us? If Lucius hired you to find us, he won't appreciate you harming her."

"Who am I? You mean you don't remember me? You knew my boy. In fact, he's dead now, 'cause of you. So I guess that means you killed him."

"That's not true. I don't even know your son," she'd declared.

"Oh, I think you did, bitch. Does the name Vincent Crabbe ring a bell? Yeah, I can see you do remember him now. He died in the castle, burnt to death he did, and you just left him there."

"He's the one who started that fire. We barely got out of there ourselves."

"Your bunch managed to get Malfoy and Goyle out with you though, didn't you? Couldn't be bothered with my Vincent, though."

"Mr. Crabbe, Vincent conjured up that Fiendfyre and he couldn't control it. He was too close to the source. There is no way we could have got him out," she'd tried to reason with the man, but he'd been having none of it.

"I don't care about any of your excuses. He's dead because of you and my life's gone all to hell since then, but things are going to turn around now. Me and my friends been hiding out here in this shit-hole since the war, barely scraping by. That's all going to change now, though, and the little princess here is going to be our ticket out of here."

Her surprise must have shown in her face because he'd laughed then. "Oh, yes. We get the news even in this backwater dung heap. I know the little half-blood princess there belongs to Papa Malfoy and he's going to pay big time to get her back."

"If you think that's true, then you must know that if you do anything to harm her, he will hunt you down to the ends of the earth. So, from now on, keep your hands off her," Hermione had warned .

Crabbe had snorted. "Don't think you can give me orders, bitch. I'll be back soon with my associates. There's no way for you to get out of here, so don't even try. If I find out you been making trouble while I'm gone, you'll be very sorry."

Hermione had tended to Orrie then, using a washcloth to make a cold compress for her bruised cheek. As she now held Orrie in her lap, the little girl had looked up at her with big blue eyes and asked, "Mummy? Why'd dat bad man say I's a half-bwood pwincess? An' who's Papa Maffoy?"

* * *

Hermione looked down at Orrie in her arms and considered brushing her question off with some excuse, but then she remembered her promise to Lucius. She had said that if anything happened, she would make sure Orrie learned the truth. She was fairly sure this wasn't what Lucius had been thinking of, but in the event that something happened to her, she wanted Orrie to know she did have a daddy out there. One who loved her and wanted her very much, because in spite of the heartache he had caused her by his actions, she couldn't deny that he cared for his daughter.

She explained as gently as she could that Lucius was her real daddy and that he had loved her 'other' mummy a lot. They had got separated and he had been looking for them for a very long time. Now that he'd found her, though, he had wanted to get to know her and wanted her to come live with him.

Orrie seemed to accept her explanation with ease and only one complaint. "Oh! I's so happy that Woocius is my daddy, but I was kinda hopin' Sev'wus could be my daddy. Can he be my daddy, too, Mummy?"

"No, sweetheart. You can only have one daddy and mummy," said Hermione.

"Uh-uh, Mummy, thas not twue. I has two mummies, you and my other mummy. So I think I wants two daddies, too. I's gonna ask Sev'wus to be my other daddy."

Hermione smiled and didn't try to argue with her. It was a lovely thought and as much as Severus cared for the child, he would probably be honored to be asked to be her daddy.

If only she could figure out a way to get the two of them out of here, or at the very least Orrie. She'd be willing to stay behind and face her fate, if she could only get Orrie to safety.

As she pondered, she played with the pendant she wore around her neck. It had been Lisa's, she had worn it always. In her will she had given it to Hermione. Now that Hermione had read her journals she realized it had been the Portkey that Lucius had given her that first fateful night, the one that had transported her to his safe house. Hermione stopped and removed it to look at it closely. She knew some Portkeys were designed for repeated use to return the owner to the same place again and again. Wouldn't Lucius have set up this Portkey to do the same thing? If only she could figure out a way to activate it, but without a wand she didn't see how. She could do small bits of wandless magic, but nothing complex, nothing like this.

Orrie reached up and touched the medallion. "Whas'sat?" she asked as Hermione handed it over for her to examine. "It's pretty."

"It was your mum's. She gave it to me to remember her by. It was a Portkey."

Orrie shoved the necklace back into Hermione's hand. "I doesn't like Portkeys. They's icky 'n makes me fro up."

Hermione kissed the top of her head. "I know, sweetie. I'm sorry about that. This one was a special Portkey, though. Your daddy gave it to your mum to get her away from a very dangerous place. This one took her to a safe house where the bad people couldn't get her. I was just wishing I could make it work right now and I'd send us far away from here, to where your daddy sent your mum. Even if I had a wand, though, there's probably a special password or something and I don't know what it is. What am I thinking? If I had a wand I could just transform it into a regular Portkey and get us out of here."

They heard the door rattle, and Hermione quickly stuffed the medallion into her pocket. Crabbe came in with two other men. Orrie huddled close, and Hermione held her protectively. She studied the men closely and, although they looked vaguely familiar, she probably wouldn't have recognized them if she had passed them on the street. She knew that they must have been Death Eaters, but even now she had no idea who they were.

"Bloody hell! Crabbe," said the one with slicked-back black hair and a mustache. "You were telling the truth. It is Granger and Lucius' half-blood spawn. I thought you'd cracked up, telling such tales, but it's really them."

"We are finally going to get what's due us," declared the other one, a slender little man who physically reminded her a bit of Quirrell, rather pale and gaunt and a little mousy. He didn't seem weak and timid like Quirrell, though. Despite his appearance, this fellow seemed to be in charge of the others. "Let's have a look at you then, girl," he said.

Orrie just burrowed deeper, trying to hide her face in Hermione's neck. "I said look here, you little brat!" he shouted, grabbing her hair and turning her face towards him.

Orrie screeched and Hermione tried to get her hair out of his hand. "Let go of her. You're hurting her and scaring her."

"Good, then maybe she'll pay attention the next time I tell her something." He studied Orrie's face closely before commenting. "She's Malfoy's bastard alright. Look at those eyes. No doubt about it, those are Malfoy eyes."

"If you expect to extract a ransom from Lucius, you'd be wise to use your head. If we come to any harm, you'll get nothing from him," warned Hermione.

Mustache man gave a quick bark of laughter. "Don't flatter yourself Mudblood. The girl here won't be harmed, but old Lucius doesn't give a rat's ass about you. In fact, we'd probably be doing him a favor if we got rid of you. No long drawn out legal battles, just 'poof' and his little custody problem's all gone. He might even pay us extra."

Quirrell Man leaned down to make a grab for Orrie and Hermione saw his wand sticking out of the waistband of his trousers. Knowing she would only have one chance, she moved fast. Pulling the necklace out of her pocket, she shoved it into Orrie's hand whispering quickly, "Hold on." In the same instant she grabbed the wand and pointed it at the pendant. "_Portus_!" she cried.

Fast... but not fast enough. The pendant shimmered with a weak blue light, but the wand didn't respond well to Hermione's command. The spell was too weak. With a swipe of his arm, Mustache Man ripped the necklace out of Orrie's grasp and sent it flying across the room to land by the hearth. Quirrell Man snatched Orrie out of Hermione's arms and passed her to Crabbe. "Call that useless girl and have her watch the kid in the next room."

Hermione was scrambling desperately to get to Orrie, who was screaming and crying for her. Crabbe called a slatternly looking servant girl. He gave Orrie to her, telling her to take her next door and make sure she didn't get out. "Don't hurt her, neither," he shouted after her. "That kid's worth a fortune in gold."

Quirrell Man grabbed Hermione up and slammed her against the wall, holding her there with a tight grip on her throat. "Oh, you just made a big mistake, Granger. No one steals Ansel Avery's wand and gets away with it. I would have been content to just sit back and watch while we let Crabbe play with you for a bit, but this just got personal, and I'm going to enjoy it." He tightened his hold as Hermione clawed at his hand, trying frantically to loosen his grip on her throat. She was seeing bright flashes and knew she had to do something before she passed out. She drew her knee up hard and struck solidly between Avery's legs. Lucky for her he was short and she had decent leverage. At least now she had a name to go with his ugly face.

Avery howled and let go of her as she fell to the floor gasping for breath. Before she could even attempt to get up, Mustache Man had his wand on her and cast the Cruciatus. Oh gods! She'd thought that she would never have to endure this again. With the tiny corner of her mind that was still capable of coherent thought she prayed that whatever happened to her, that Orrie would somehow survive. She thought: _Lucius, please, where ever you are, find Orrie. Please, find her and save her._

Hermione was actually shocked at the sudden cessation of the curse. Her befuddled mind heard Avery order, "Stop, Macnair! No more curses. Magic is too good for the likes of her. We're going to punish her like a Muggle." He grabbed her and pulled her to her feet, shoving her back towards Crabbe. "Hold her up," he commanded as he drew back his fist and punched her in the stomach. Then he backhanded her across the face with his fist. They were the first blows of many.

* * *

Hermione had no idea how long the beating went on. It felt like hours but she was sure it couldn't have been that long. She couldn't have lived through it if were that long, could she? She knew she had several cracked ribs and broken bones and she suspected that if one more kick caught her squarely in the side she was likely to have a punctured lung. They took time out every so often to taunt her and terrorize her with warnings of what was yet to come: Crabbe would get to play with her first, and then Macnair would get the chance to use the blades that he favored so much. Even now they were laughing, as she tried to drag her broken body away. She collapsed before the hearth and Avery shoved her over onto her back with the toe of his boot. He stretched out her right arm and forced her hand open, flat, palm up. Then, taking the fireplace tongs, he pulled something out of the coals.

"I believe this is yours, Mudblood," he crooned as he gently placed the red hot metal pendant on the flat of her hand and pressed it down into her palm with the toe of his boot.

Hermione screamed as the metal seared her flesh while the monsters laughed around her.

At that instant the door of the room flew open, propelled by magic so strong that it slammed against the wall and the door knob embedded itself in the wall. Little Orrie stood in the doorway, her curly hair nearly standing on end as the latent magic flowed through her. She cried, "Mummy! Go... safe house... go, Mummy, go now!"

"Baby, no!" she screamed as she felt the ripcord pull behind her navel. Hermione lunged forward in a desperate attempt to reach Orrie. Her fingers were mere inches from Orrie's when her body was jerked away into the ether.

* * *

Hermione woke up in a strange room. Looking around, she realized she was lying on her back on the floor of what appeared to be a living room or parlor of some kind. As she tried to move, her entire body protested and memory suddenly flooded back. Orrie!

She groaned, the sound coming out like some kind of wounded animal. From the corner of her eye she caught a movement and she saw huge green eyes peeking out from behind a wing chair. "Please," she begged, her voice barely a whisper. "Please, help me."

The little house-elf approached cautiously. Upon seeing her up close and realizing the extent of her injuries, she dropped to her knees next to Hermione. "Oh missy, you is hurts very bad. More than Twink can fixes. I can helps some, ease your pain maybe, but you needs wizard medicines." Laying her hands on Hermione, the most intense pain eased so she could at least breathe without pain shooting through her chest.

"Twink! You're Lisa's... err... Elise's Twink! Please help me Twink, I need Lucius. Take me to Lucius," Hermione said weakly.

The little elf wrung her hand in distress. "You should not be moved, missy. You is being hurt very much."

"Twink, I need Lucius. The bad men, the ones who did this to me, they have Orrie. They have your mistress' daughter. Please, help me now."

Twink's eyes widened and with a grim nod, she gently gathered Hermione close, and wrapping her arms around her, Apparated them to Malfoy Manor.

* * *

Hermione had asked to be taken to Lucius, so Twink transported them directly to Lucius' office. However, when they arrived he was nowhere in sight.

"Master! Master, we needs help!" shouted Twink. "HELP!"

Draco ran into the room. "Twink, what are you carrying on about?" As he rounded the end of the sofa he saw Twink huddled on the floor, holding a young woman's head in her lap, a young woman who had been very badly beaten. "Who is that, Twink?"

"I doesn't know Master Draco. She says take her to Master Lucius. She says bad men who did this to her has Mistress Elise's baby girl. She says help her. So Twink does."

Draco leaned down to take a closer look and gasped. "Granger? Dear Merlin!"

Hermione opened her eyes and, seeing Draco, grabbed at the front of his shirt. "Draco, help me. Take me to Lucius." She tried to sit up but was overwhelmed by the pain. Whatever good Twink had done with her earlier healing had been erased by the Apparition. Hermione let out a sound that was half groan half sob.

"Hermione, for Slytherin's sake, don't move. You'll hurt yourself more. What happened? Where is Orrie? Who did this to you?"

She mumbled something, but Draco couldn't make out what she said. He frowned and leaned closer. She licked her lips and taking a breath tried again. "Crabbe."

Draco pulled back, shaking his head. "Granger, you're hallucinating. Crabbe is dead; he died in the Room of Requirement. Fiendfyre, don't you remember?"

Hermione shook her head. She gasped a couple times and said, "No, not Vincent, his... his father."

"Sweetheart, you're wrong. Crabbe senior died at the battle at Hogwarts."

"No, he's alive... hiding. Others, too. Av... Avery and... mustache... no, not mustache... no, Macnair. Crabbe, Avery and Macnair." Hermione was upset, thinking that Draco didn't believe her. "Please help me. Help me, Draco. They've got Orrie. Take me to Lucius. I'll do anything—anything he wants. Please." Hermione was sobbing quietly now.

"Shhh... Hermione calm down. You need medical help. I'm going to get you to St. Mungo's."

"Noooo!" she wailed. "Need Lucius... have to get Orrie!"

"Shhh... Listen to me. Father is out of the country. He's looking for you both. I'll send Twink to find him and bring him back, but I have to get you to Mungo's now. You're hurt badly. If something happens to you, we won't be able to find her, so we've got to get you fixed up, okay?"

Hermione nodded and slumped down. Draco wasn't sure if she was resting or had passed out. He had Twink levitate her up off the floor so he could gather her as gently as possible in his arms without jostling her further. Then he quickly explained to the little elf where to find Lucius and told her to bring him back to St. Mungo's as quickly as possible.

* * *

It was a scant three hours later that three figures stalked down the halls of St. Mungo's, Lucius Malfoy in the lead, flanked by both Severus Snape and Harry Potter. It was quite the impressive sight. The staff at the hospital would be talking about it for many months to come.

Draco, hearing the disturbance got up with a nod to Pansy who was sitting at Hermione's bedside, holding her hand. He moved to block the doorway as the three men tried to enter.

"Father," Draco greeted him solemnly. "Please tell me the name of the Crup I had as a boy and on which birthday did you give him to me?"

"Draco, really?" Lucius made as if to move around him.

Draco placed his arm across the doorway blocking the way. "Yes, Father, really. You haven't seen what they did to her. She was beaten nearly to death. I am not letting you or anyone else in this room unless I am absolutely sure they are who they say they are. Now, the Crup's name was...?"

"The Crup was a she not a he, and her name was Sheba. You were seven years old, and she was a gift from your mother not from me."

Draco relaxed his stance and sighed. "Thank the gods you're here. Before you see her, I must warn you, it looks bad. Believe me, she looked much worse when Twink found her."

Looking at Harry and Severus, Draco stepped aside, saying, "I suppose since you're with him and he's really him, I can assume you are okay."

Seeing Harry, Pansy dashed across the room and threw herself into his arms. "Oh, Harry," was all she said as she hugged him tight.

Severus stepped around the embracing couple and went to stand next to Lucius at Hermione's bedside. "Bloody hell, Granger," he swore under his breath when he saw her. Severus reached out with one long finger and lightly traced over the back of her hand, as if to be assured that she were still alive. Then in a quiet voice for Lucius' ears only, he said, "Those fucking bastards are dead men if I find them first."

Lucius stepped away from the bed and asked angrily, "Why has she not been healed? Why was she left like this?"

"We had to wait for your arrival. Aside from superficial healing she refused treatment until you got here," said Draco.

"Refused treatment? Why on earth would she do that?"

Draco explained, "She has many broken bones and internal injuries. The healers think they can fix her, but they say the process will be extremely painful. Some of the bones are shattered and the injuries are very deep. In order to heal her, she needs to be sedated so she can tolerate the procedure and afterward, as well. She refused to do that until she could tell you all she knows, in the hope it will help you find Orrie."

"Hermione," gasped Pansy. All eyes turned to where Hermione was standing next to the bed, swaying dangerously. Pansy rushed across the room, but Hermione held up a hand, warning her off.

She took three wobbly steps until she stood directly in front of Lucius. Hermione placed her hand on his chest. When she spoke her voice was rough and raspy. "Lucius, please. I'll do anything you want. Anything." He looked at her with puzzled eyes, unsure what she was talking about.

"Do you want me to beg?" She slid downwards. Thinking she was falling, he tried to catch her, but she pushed his hands away and grasped the front of his robes, lowering herself gingerly to her knees. Kneeling before him, she looked up with tears in her eyes. "I'm begging you, Lucius. Begging."

"Hermione, no. Stop." he said, frowning down at her.

"No? Begging's not enough? I'll grovel then. I'll grovel at your feet." She fell forward, trying to kiss the toes of his boots.

"Holy hell, woman! What are you doing? Stop! Don't do that," he demanded, trying to back away.

She crawled after him, her hospital gown gaped open in the back, to reveal the dark bruises covering her body. Pansy grabbed a sheet off the bed and threw it over her friend. Bending down, Pansy tried to help Hermione to her feet, but she pushed her away. "No! I need his promise. I need it!" she snarled.

Turning back to Lucius, she declared, "I will do anything you say—anything at all. Tell me your price. Tell me and I'll pay it!" Her voice cracked as she continued, "I'll sign the fucking custody papers for you. I'll give up all rights—all rights—everything. I won't even ask for visitation. Nothing." She was sobbing hysterically now. "I swear! I'll never see her again. I'll leave the country, if you want. I'll go far away. Anything you want, just promise me you'll find her. Promise me you'll get her back safe. Please, dear goddess, please get Orrie away from them. Don't let them hurt her. Please, Lucius, please." Hermione was clutching at his legs to keep her balance, her face buried in his robes. Her cries were muffled, but her body shook with the force of them.

Pansy clutched Harry, moved to tears herself at Hermione's words. Harry closed his eyes against the sight of his friend's torment.

Lucius fell to his knees in front of her and gathered her into his arms. He wanted to hold her close, but was afraid he would hurt her. She was crying into his chest now, still shuddering with every breath.

"Shhh... you have to calm down, love. Calm down before you make yourself sick. Shhh..." he crooned, softly rocking her back and forth gently. He carefully raised her face and wiped her tears away with his thumbs, tracing over her lips and cupping her bruised face. "Shhh... Now listen to me carefully." He looked directly into her eyes. "Are you listening?"

Hermione took a long trembling breath and nodded.

"This is the truth. I swear it to you. What you thought you knew was not the truth. I am not suing for sole custody and I never was. Yes, I did sign those papers, but that was back before I had even confronted you about Orrie. You were right that very first day. I did plan to take her from you; I'd had the lawyers draw up the paperwork before I ever came to your house. However, once I saw you with her, saw how much she loved you, I couldn't hurt her like that. I couldn't hurt you and I couldn't betray Elise's trust. I told the lawyers to forget it, but instead of destroying the papers they must have filed them away. When I filed the documents declaring her a full Malfoy heiress, somehow the custody papers got sent along with them."

Hermione moaned. "Then this entirely my fault. If I hadn't taken her and run, this never would have happened."

Lucius gently wiped her tears away again and tenderly kissed her forehead. "It is not your fault. The blame lies with three greedy bastards. If not for them, you would be tucked away in your safe house. Eventually, you would have heard from your friends what really happened and we would have worked everything out between us. Now, you are going to promise me that you will do whatever the Healers say you must do to get well, and I will give you my promise that I will do whatever I must to bring Orrie back home."

Severus stepped to Lucius' side. "Lucius, let's get her up off the floor. We need to get her settled."

Once they got her tucked back into bed, Severus offered a suggestion, "We need to know everything you can tell us: details, descriptions, anything that was said or implied, even the smells of the place could give us a clue. It could take hours to gather all the pertinent information, hours that we don't have, time is of the essence. Here is what I propose. If you are willing, I will use Legilimency."

Hermione didn't even stop to consider. "Yes, whatever it takes. I will do anything."

"It can be uncomfortable, even painful if done by force. I promise to be as gentle as I can and since you are a willing participant, it should be fine. Just keep your mind open and let me go wherever I need."

"I don't care, just do it."

Severus pointed his wand as he locked eyes with Hermione. "_Legilimens_."

TBC


	9. Chapter 8

A Gift of Love

Chapter 8

* * *

AN: Sorry it has take me so long to post this last chapter. RL, personal family issues have taken precedent and I simply haven't had time to do this. I also have not had time to respond to reviews, I do apologize for this and appreciate each and every one. Chances are I still won't be able to respond but please know that I do thank you all for reading and for showing your support and even if I don't respond I do read all of the reviews. Thanks so much! m.

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own HP, I make no money from this work.

A/N: Many thanks go to my lovely helpers, my beta and Brit-picker: talesofsnape, and my alpha: morethansirius, their help and input were invaluable.

* * *

By the time Severus pulled out of Hermione's mind she was exhausted. He took her right hand, which was covered with bandages, and held it gently in his.

"You are going to fall asleep. Don't fight it. You badly need the rest. I'm going to give you a strengthening potion to counteract the draining effects of the Legilimency. Then the healers can do whatever needs to be done." He pulled a potion bottle out of the deep pockets of his robes and, uncorking it, held it to Hermione's lips.

She drank it without question, but before he could withdraw, she grabbed his hand, pulling him close. She motioned for Lucius, and he leaned close on the other side. She could barely keep her eyes open. Severus had been telling the truth. She was totally drained, but still, she felt compelled to speak.

"When you find them," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "If they have harmed her... if anything has happened to her... Azkaban is much too good for them."

Severus patted her hand solicitously. "Oh, my dear, I highly doubt they shall ever live to see the inside of Azkaban."

Lucius agreed, "I can assure you that Severus speaks the truth."

She nodded as she collapsed back against the pillows.

Lucius looked worried. "Is she...?"

"Just exhausted, both from her ordeal and from the Legilimency."

"What did you learn? Do you have any leads?"

Severus smiled slyly. "If my first inclination is wrong, then I shall show you her memories in a pensieve and we'll go from there, but I don't think that will be necessary. I can't believe it might be this easy," he said, as he gently unwound the bandages from Hermione's right hand.

"What are you doing?" asked Lucius.

Severus carefully opened Hermione's fingers to expose the mark on her palm, branded deeply into her flesh. "Is the medallion that made this mark what I think it is?"

There in the center of her hand was a permanent impression of the Malfoy family crest, one inch in diameter.

"Yes," choked Lucius. "It's the Portkey medallion I used for my safe house. This is from the one I gave to Elise, years ago. I wondered what had become of it; it wasn't in her jewelry box. She must have given it to Hermione." Lucius' fingers hovered above Hermione's palm, wanting to soothe and comfort her damaged flesh. Instead he bent and kissed her wrist, and then began to carefully re-wrap the dressing over her palm.

In a deathly voice he asked, "Which of those bastards did this to her?"

"Avery," replied Severus.

"When we find them, he is mine," vowed Lucius.

"Not if I get to him first," said Severus.

Lucius softly laid Hermione's hand back on the bed. "How does this help us?"

"I am hoping, since the Portkey is of your design, you will be able to trace the last destination from which it was activated. I know that she had it with her when she arrived, so it had better be with her belongings when we talk to the healers."

"Brilliant! Severus, you're right." Lucius paused with a frown and turned to his friend. "I don't understand, though, how Hermione was able to activate it. I keyed it to Elise, but other than that only a Malfoy should be able to make it work."

"It was activated by a Malfoy," Severus responded grimly.

"I don't underst... Orrie? How?"

"Spontaneous magic. They'd sent her with a servant girl out of the room, but she must have been able to hear Hermione's cries. She burst into the room, upset, her magic pouring from her, and cried, 'Go... safe house... go Mummy!' Hermione realized what was happening. She tried to get to Orrie, but before she could reach her, she was transported away."

Lucius braced his hands on his knees and took a deep breath. Looking up, he confirmed, "Safe house was the password for the Portkey, but it could only be activated by a Malfoy, or Elise."

"We need to talk to the Healers and get that medallion. I'm hoping Potter is listed as her emergency contact in the magical world and they will allow him access since she is unconscious. "

Harry, Pansy, and Draco had stepped out of the room while Severus was searching Hermione's mind for clues, both to give them the needed privacy and to keep anyone else from interfering with them. Lucius called them back into the room now and explained quickly what they had learned.

Harry agreed to go with them to talk to the healers. Draco and Pansy stayed in the room to keep watch over Hermione.

* * *

Upon talking to the manager of the ward Hermione was on, they were referred to an administrator, Healer Wakefield. She proved to be a curmudgeon of an old woman, who was not entirely agreeable with their request. She was not at all impressed by the one and only boy-who-lived.

"Explain to me, Mr. Potter, why it is you think I will give Miss Granger's personal effects to you?" asked Healer Wakefield, looking at all of them over the tops of her glasses, very much a St. Mungo's version of Minerva McGonagall.

"I am her legal next-of-kin here in the wizarding world," repeated Harry.

"Miss Granger is neither dead nor incompetent to handle her own affairs, Mr. Potter. She is merely temporarily incapacitated."

"We can't afford to wait until she is awake and able to grant us permission, ma'am," said Harry through gritted teeth.

Lucius, sensing that Severus was on the verge of merely taking the necklace and Obliviating the old biddy, spoke up. "Healer Wakefield, I'm sure you know from the recent gossip in the papers that Miss Granger is the adoptive mother of my daughter." At her nod, he continued, "What you don't know—what no one knows, and it is of the utmost importance that it remain so—is that our daughter Orrie has been abducted."

The old woman's eyes grew big at this news. "Go on, Mr. Malfoy."

"The kidnappers are the ones who caused Miss Granger's injuries and they still have our child. We three believe that necklace may be the key to finding her, as it is a Portkey designed by me years ago. I think, with access to it I may be able to reverse the charm to take us to the location where she was held."

She studied the necklace and then looked up at the three men before her. "Will you swear to me this is the truth, and not part of some nefarious plot to take her child from her?"

"Ma'am, I am her best friend," protested Harry, "I would never do that to Hermione."

"Yes, I will swear," Lucius cut in. "I'll take an Unbreakable Vow if that is what it takes."

Healer Wakefield frowned. "I don't deal in such magics, sir. Your word will be enough."

"Then you have my word, madam," said Lucius.

With a sigh, she removed the necklace from the box of Hermione's personal effects. "Then in good conscience, if it might save the life of a child, I cannot deny you. I give you my word, sir, that no one shall hear of this from me. I understand the need for secrecy," she said as she handed him the necklace.

Thank you, healer. Please take good care of my... of Miss Granger."

"We do our best to take care of all our patients, Mr. Malfoy, but your concern is duly noted."

* * *

They had no sooner left Healer Wakefield's office than Lucius was confronted by Ron Weasley.

"Mr. Malfoy, just the person I've been looking for. I'll need you and Draco to come with me down to Auror Headquarters."

Harry stepped out from behind Severus. "Ron, what's this all about? We have something important to do. We don't have time for this right now."

"What's this about? Surely you realize that Draco Malfoy can't show up at St. Mungo's with a beaten and battered Hermione Granger in his arms and not have the Aurors notified."

"My son was not responsible for Hermione's injuries," stated Lucius.

"Lucius, let me talk to him privately for a moment."

Harry led Ron aside.

"Lucius? Since when are you so buddy-buddy with Malfoy, Harry?"

"Since Orrie is his daughter, as everyone now knows. I guess it comes as no surprise that Pansy and I have spent a lot of time with all of them lately."

"From what I hear down at the Ministry, Malfoy's trying to take Orrie away from Hermione."

"Yes, that's the rumor, but that's all it is, Ron, just a rumor."

"Are you positive about that?"

"Yes, and he had nothing to do with what happened to her either."

"I don't know, Harry. It would be awfully convenient, for him if Hermione died. Who do you think would get custody of Orrie then, if not her natural father?'

"Ron, I know it looks bad, but I know the truth about what happened to Hermione and I can swear it wasn't Lucius. In fact, I think the she fancies him a bit."

"Ewww...! Hermione and Malfoy's dad. That's just wrong," declared Ron vehemently.

"I'd have agreed at one time, but I think it's true, Ron. It's either him or Snape, or maybe both of them."

"Snape! Both of them! Now I know you're pulling my leg. You really had me going for a min..." Ron looked up to see Harry shaking his head with a grin. "Oh gods! You aren't kidding, are you?"

With a sigh, Ron continued, in full Auror mode now. "So what's going on with all this? Someone beat Hermione up really bad; I'd say this is a job for the Aurors. Harry, you could get into big trouble for withholding evidence or for aiding and abetting a couple of characters like Malfoy and Snape in breaking the law."

"Ron, I'm trusting you with this. The men who _did_ beat up Hermione, they have Orrie. We have to get her back."

"Still sounds like a job for the Aurors to me, Harry."

"The kidnapping didn't happen here, Ron. They took them in Bulgaria, so it's outside the department's jurisdiction. All you're going to accomplish by taking us in for questioning is to slow us down. We need to get to Orrie as soon as possible."

Ron seemed to be considering. He glanced up over Harry's shoulder. Snape looked about ready to explode, which was unusual, considering how much he'd kept hidden behind his cold facade with ease, during the war. Malfoy, on the other hand, looked cool, calm, and collected, but when he glanced up at Ron and Harry, Ron could see the deadly determination in his eyes.

"I could lose my job over something like this. I'm going to have to report to my superiors..." Harry opened his mouth to protest, but then Ron continued. Looking at his watch, he said, "Is it really that late already? It's way past time for me to take a dinner break, and now that I think of it, I must have missed my break time earlier, too. Oh well, I guess I'll probably take a really long dinner break, and by that time my shift will probably be over, I suppose. So, I guess I won't be able to file a report until the morning. Yeah, I'll definitely have to report it though, Harry."

Harry clapped his friend on the back. "Thanks, Ron. I owe you, big time."

"No, Harry, you don't owe me anything. You three do what you have to do. If you run into trouble and need back up, you call me. I mean that. Job or no job, you know that I'd do anything for you or Hermione."

"Thanks Ron," Harry repeated, hugging his friend.

As Harry joined Lucius and Severus, Ron took off toward the cafeteria. "I told him about Orrie."

Lucius asked, "What did he say?"

"He said he'd have to report it."

"Damn it all, Potter!" cursed Severus.

"Calm down, Severus. He just noticed its dinner time; you know how Ron Weasley feels about his food. By the time he's done, his shift will be over until tomorrow morning."

"He's giving us a head start?" asked Severus disbelievingly.

Harry nodded. "Let's get out of here before we run into another delay."

* * *

They stopped back at Hermione's room to let Pansy and Draco know what was going on. Lucius arranged for, Healer Mumford, the Malfoy family healer to oversee all of Hermione's treatment. Pansy promised to stay with her and to arrange for some of her other friends to take turns when she had to leave.

Draco wanted to go with them to rescue Orrie, but reluctantly agreed to stay when Lucius pointed out that he needed someone he could trust at home to run things, and pass on communications. This was reinforced when a Malfoy family house-elf, Perky. showed up with a letter and a package that turned out to be a ransom demand. The four of them Apparated back to Malfoy Manor to examine the contents of both.

Inside the package was Foxy Lucy, in two parts. Her little plushie head had been severed from her little plushie body.

Lucius read the note aloud:

"_Dear Lucius, _

_Old friend of mine, how the mighty have fallen. First, siring a half-blood brat off some filthy Mudblood slut? What would our Lord think if he could see you now? Seems more like the actions of a blood-traitor than a pureblood, and to publicly acknowledge the brat, what were you thinking? _

_At any rate, all the better for me. If you want to see your little bastard again alive, you will bring one hundred thousand galleons in gold as a good faith deposit. Once I have proof that you are willing to deal with us, you will be sent the numbers of a protected Gringotts account in which you will deposit an additional three million galleons._

_If you choose not to deal with us, your filthy spawn will end up like poor little Foxy Lucy. Oh the poor dear did cry and carry on so, as she witnessed us slice up her beloved toy. It was music to our ears. Act soon or she will be the one to suffer._

_Meet me in three days' time, where it all began. Or it will be sweet irony that the girl will die where her grandparents did. _

_A.A."_

"What should we do?" asked Severus. "Continue with the plan? Or wait until they show up for the meeting?"

Lucius considered as he cradled half of Foxy Lucy in each hand. He then cast a 'reparo' on the toy, putting it back together as good as new, and, shrinking it, he slipped it in his pocket. He answered,

"Just because they have arranged the meeting here in England doesn't mean that they are here. They may still be where they were holding Hermione. We have three days. We will trace the Portkey and try to find Orrie. If we don't find her within three days, I will meet Avery in Ellswick."

"Ellswick? Why Ellswick?" asked Harry.

"As the letter says, it's where it all began. It's where I first met Elise, the night her family was murdered by my comrades."

* * *

The three spent several hours studying the Portkey. Although none of them had ever traced a Portkey to its last point of origin, theoretically it should be possible to do. Lucius had a similar one of his own that he had created after he'd given his first one to Elise. Not wanting to risk damaging the original one, they practiced on Lucius' copy. After using it several times from different locations to Portkey back to the cottage, they managed untangled the path back to the last location successfully. They repeated the process to be sure they could replicate it consistently before trying it with Hermione's Portkey.

"I just hope that the trail doesn't dissipate with time," worried Harry.

"It hasn't been all that long," said Draco. "Maybe twelve hours total since she popped in at the cottage and Twink found her."

"I don't think it will be a problem," said Severus, "but we'd best get busy and be on our way before morning arrives and Mr. Weasley is forced to file his reports with his supervisors."

The three gathered around the Portkey as Lucius cast the reversal spell. Draco watched helplessly, wishing that he were going with them, as they winked out of sight. "Travel well, and bring her home safe," he whispered.

* * *

Having anticipated everything that could go wrong, in reality it seemed almost too easy. Their arrival would be the most dangerous, they had agreed, because they could be somewhat disoriented and would have no idea who might be present when they arrived.

Once they had swirled into being, the three immediately moved into a defensive stance in a tight circle, backs together, and wands drawn. They surveyed the room and quickly realized it was empty. Severus looked around and confirmed it was the room from Hermione's memories. They stepped toward the door, which they could see was shut but unlatched as the knob was now broken.

Severus got to the door first and slipped it open just a crack to listen. After a couple of seconds he whispered, "I can hear voices. Someone is here. Whether it's Avery, Crabbe, and Macnair I'm not sure.

They widened the crack so they all could listen.

Harry said, "I hear at least two different voices distinctly, and I'm sure that I heard them mention your name, Lucius."

Lucius nodded, frowning in concentration. After a moment he said, "I'm positive I hear Macnair."

Severus nodded in agreement. "He's with Avery. I recognize his voice now."

Just then they heard the crack of a loud slap and a decidedly female cry. Lucius nearly bolted through the doorway then, but Severus hauled him back. He whispered loudly, "Stop! That's not Orrie. In Hermione's memory there was a servant girl; she took Orrie to the room next door. That's probably her down there with Avery and Macnair. If Orrie is still locked up next door, Crabbe may be guarding her. Let's see if we can get in there."

Lucius looked divided. He wanted to get Orrie, but he also wanted a chance to make Avery pay. Finally he acquiesced; of course, Orrie was the most important thing.

They opened the door quietly and slipped into the hallway, which was deserted. The room they exited from was at the end of the hall. There were three other doors, one directly across the hall. Harry checked for wards but found none, he carefully tried the door and surprisingly it was unlocked. With a nod to Lucius and Severus he swiftly opened the door and stepped inside, wand drawn. The room was unoccupied and was nothing but a very messy bedroom with two narrow beds. He stepped back out. "Nothing," he mouthed with a shake of his head.

Lucius checked the next door, finding it similarly unwarded and unlocked. There was nothing inside this one but a linen closet.

Severus checked the last door. No wards, but the door was locked. Harry moved past him toward the head of the stairs. Severus frowned and hissed at Harry who just put his finger to his lips for silence. He began casting a series of wards to keep those downstairs from hearing anything from above and to keep them out, at least for a while, should they attempt to come up.

Harry stepped back from the stairs and Severus grudgingly admitted, "Good job, Potter."

Severus prepared to open the door when Lucius stepped up to his side. "Wait," he whispered. He aimed his wand at the door and cast the spell Hermione had used to monitor Orrie at home while she'd stood outside on the step with him. It worked. The top half of the door turned invisible, just like a window, and they could see clearly inside. Orrie sat on the bed. She appeared to be playing or talking with Malfoy Bear. Across the room, apparently sound asleep in a chair, was Crabbe.

They all smiled at each other. Severus cast a simple _"Alolomora"_ and the door opened with a slight click. Crabbe didn't move, but Orrie turned frightened eyes toward the door. When Severus poked his head around the edge, she looked as if she were going to squeal his name, but he put his finger to his lips just as Harry had done moments earlier. Orrie nodded in understanding.

Severus cast a quick "_Incarcerus"_ and an even quicker _"Silencio"_ at Crabbe. Orrie's eyes got even bigger when her Uncle Harry slipped through the door, and when Lucius followed she couldn't stop herself.

"Daddy!" she cried, running to Lucius and jumping into his arms. "I knowed that you'd come get me. I just knowed it."

Lucius held her tight, overcome with emotion, as his little girl called him daddy for the very first time. She buried her head in his neck and hugged him hard. "You were right sweetheart. I did come to get you and I always will. I love you, Orrie."

"I wuv you too, Daddy."

"Are you alright, Orrie? Are you hurt?"

She shook her head and turning in Lucius' arms toward Severus she cried, "Sev'wus, my other daddy!"

"What?" They all looked at each other in confusion.

"When Mummy telled me about Woocius being my daddy, I was sooo happy, but I kinda wanted Sev'wus to be my daddy, too. So I telled Mummy that I was gonna ask Sev'wus to be my other Daddy. First Mummy said you kin only has one mummy an' one daddy, but I telled her I has two mummie's, her and my 'other' mummy, so I wants two daddies, too. Will you be my daddy, too, Sev'wus."

"Errr... Orrie, I don't know—"

"Of course, he will, Orrie," interrupted Lucius, "but we will have to work out all the details later. Right now, we need to get you out of here to somewhere safe."

Suddenly tears began to slide down Orrie's cheeks.

"Oh, sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"I done something weally bad, Daddy. They was hurtin' Mummy and I wanted her to go somewheres safe, an' when I said that, she dips-a-peered" Orrie sobbed, "I dips-a-peered my Mummy and I doesn't know where she went!"

"Oh, lovey, it's all right. Shhh... Don't cry. You didn't do something bad; you did something very, very good. You saved your Mummy from the bad men and you did send her somewhere safe. She's hurt, or she'd be right here with us, but the healers are going to make her all better."

"Weally? She's weally okay?"

"I promise. Isn't she all right, Severus?" said Lucius, turning toward his friend.

"Yes, Poppet. It's true, and you'll get to see her soon. Right now, though, you need to go with your Uncle Harry."

Harry protested, "I think Lucius should take her home. She should stay with her dad."

"No, Severus is right," said Lucius, quickly passing Orrie to Harry without giving him a chance to object further. "Here, love, I have something for you," said Lucius, pulling Foxy Lucy out of his pocket and enlarging her.

"Foxy Lucy! You saved her and you fixted her! Fank you Wooci... I mean, Daddy."

Severus slipped her Blinky and Malfoy Bear into her backpack and shoved it into Harry's arms as well. "Lucius and I have to stay for a bit and clean up the mess downstairs. We'll both see you soon."

Lucius quickly slipped the necklace over Orrie's head and whispered, "Go to the safe-house, my love."

"Daddy, I doesn't likes Portkeys!" Orrie yelled as she and Harry blinked out of sight.

"Lucius!" They heard Harry's cry, as well, as the two disappeared.

"Down to business then, Severus?" asked Lucius.

"Down to business, old friend," agreed Severus.

They headed downstairs, wands drawn.

* * *

No one ever knew for sure what _really_ happened there that night. Well, no one except Lucius and Severus and they weren't talking.

By the time the team of Bulgarian and Romanian Aurors showed up, Avery was dead. He'd broken his neck falling down the stairs in an attempt to escape. That's what they were told, at least. There were no signs of any magic, any curses, or hexes, or jinxes. The man looked as though he'd been beaten to a pulp, though.

"It's possible that he may have fallen down the stairs more than once," admitted Snape with a shrug. "The damn, stupid, bastard just kept trying to get away, and he kept falling down those stairs a time or two... or twenty."

One of the Aurors held up Avery's hand to reveal a golden galleon burned into the flesh on the palm of his hand. "I suppose he fell on this on one of those trips down the stairs?"

Lucius simply nodded with a grim smile. "Yes, I suppose it could have happened that way."

It turned out that although Crabbe had kidnapped Hermione and Orrie in Bulgaria, he had then transported them across the border to Romania; therefore, both countries had an interest in prosecuting the former Death Eaters.

After Lucius explained the circumstances, and details of his daughter and her mother being kidnapped and held for ransom, the Bulgarian authorities went wild. Apparently, they bore a particularly strong grudge against kidnappers. It turned out Bulgaria had extremely harsh punishments for kidnappers on the books, due to an incident in the sixteenth century when a high ranking noble wizard's son had been abducted and murdered by his kidnappers.

On the other hand, Romania was known for its exceptionally bleak and desolate conditions in the prison system. They were said to make Azkaban look like a girls summer camp. Lucius was content to waive extradition back to England and have them tried in either Bulgaria or Romania—whichever one won the fight over them—as long as they went to prison somewhere, he would be satisfied.

They'd spent a full two days giving statements and answering questions before the officials had finally finished with them. They were just preparing to leave when one official informed Lucius, "All right, then Mr. Malfoy, as soon as your wife is able, we will need to get her statement—"

Severus interrupted, "She's not his wife."

"Well, not yet, at any rate," shot back Lucius.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Severus, his brows drawn down into a frown.

"I've decided to ask her to marry me," declared Lucius.

"Not if I get there first," countered Severus and with a twist he Disapparated.

"Damn you, Severus!" He handed the official his business card and told him to contact him for anything. "I really must go now, sir, before my best friend steals my future wife." Lucius, too, disappeared with a 'pop'.

The two looked at one another and shrugged. The one man twirled his finger by his head, while the other nodded in agreement and said, "The English... they're crazy."

* * *

Lucius arrived at St. Mungo's half expecting to find that Severus had already whisked Hermione away to Gretna Green. Instead, when he walked into her room Severus was merely standing by her bedside looking down at her.

"How is she?" asked Lucius as he approached the other side of the bed.

"Much better, she's sleeping peacefully." Severus sat on the edge of the bed and smoothed the hair back from her face. "The swelling has gone down and the bruising is nearly healed. She's going to be fine. I want to kill Avery all over again for what he did to her, and for what he was willing to do to Orrie. I wish we'd taken Macnair and Crabbe out, too."

"They'll suffer longer. It's better this way. Avery had to go though." Lucius held her hand, and turning over her palm he grimaced to see the mark of his Portkey still there, faded but clear. "They couldn't remove the scar," said Lucius, grimly.

"I didn't want them to."

"Hermione!" They both said at once.

"Orrie?" she asked, looking afraid to hear their answer.

"She's fine," assured Lucius.

"She's with Pansy and Potter. They are taking good care of her," assured Severus.

Hermione nodded and sighed with relief. "You're both all right, too?"

Lucius smiled. "As fine as can be, don't we look it?"

She smiled shyly at both of them. "You both look absolutely wonderful."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," rumbled Severus as he stroked her cheek.

"I would," replied Hermione, reaching up to hold his hand to her face as she turned to kiss it.

Lucius was holding her right hand and kissed her palm reverently. "Why didn't you want them to remove this scar?"

"It's a reminder. When I start to get cocky, and think I know all the answers, I'll look at it and remember what I almost lost. I don't just mean Orrie, either.

"I'm a little confused, though," she said, and then she giggled.

"Hmmm... good confused as in 'oh I feels so silly', or bad confused as in 'I'm seeing things that aren't really there'?" asked Lucius.

"Good, I think, but I'm not entirely sure that I'm really awake. I think I might be dreaming all of this. They've been giving me some very strong potions. The last thing I remember was Severus mucking about inside my head. Oh, and I think at one point I threatened to hex some Healer named Mumford when she wouldn't let me go help find Orrie. I think that's when the potions dosage started getting stronger."

Lucius leaned down to nuzzle the side of her neck. "What can we do to convince you that it is real?"

"I'd really like a kiss. You nearly kissed me twice and then didn't. I've been thinking of that kiss forever and wondering how it would feel. I'd like that very much."

"Your wish is my command, love," replied Lucius as his lips slid from her neck to her mouth. He toyed with her at first, teasing her. His lips ghosted lightly over hers before he ran his tongue across her bottom lip. Then as if he could deny himself no longer his lips closed over hers in a searing kiss. When he finally pulled away he smiled at her befuddled look and asked, "Was it everything you'd imagined?"

"Mmmm... Yes, that and more."

Hermione turned toward Severus. "Now you."

"Now me, what?"

"You... Now you. I want a kiss from you, too," she demanded. "I've been dreaming of that even longer than of kissing Lucius."

Severus looked surprised. "Really? Since when... Not since you were my stu—?"

"Ewww... No! The very idea of the kissing the great and terrifying Professor Snape would have scared me silly. No, it was last summer at Harry's birthday party, just before Rose was born. Pansy and I were talking about babies, and she asked me if I might ever want one. I said I might, but there were no prospective daddy types in my life so I didn't really see that happening. She said I should consider you."

Severus eyes grew wide at the very idea.

"I thought she was joking, at first, but the more I thought about it, I found the idea really intriguing—"

Severus lunged. There was no toying, no teasing; he just jumped right to the heart of the matter, kissing her deeply and passionately.

"Mmmm... that was so good, too," Hermione sighed. "Are you sure I'm not dreaming? This seems too good to be true."

"It is absolutely true, my dear," assured Lucius. "When we decided that we both wanted you, we agreed to put our differences aside and work together to bring you and Orrie home. Then later we realized how close we had come to losing you, and it became less important for one of us to be the victor and more important to coexist. Something surprises me, though. You don't seem to be at all shocked by the type of relationship being proposed here. You seem very accepting of the whole concept of a triad."

"That's because she is."

"Severus, you were supposed to be looking for information about Orrie's kidnappers, not checking out my past liaisons," complained Hermione.

"I didn't intentionally, sweet. You were thinking about Krum being your Secret-Keeper and bits of your past with him and Weasley crept in."

"Weasley, do tell. Which one? Not Ronald, he doesn't seem the type. Not Percy either, too stuffy. The older son, the curse breaker?"

"Lucius! Bill is a happily married man." She added shyly, "It was Charlie."

"Ahh... the dragon keeper. I can see the attraction there, certainly. Well, good to know that at least one of us three will know what she'd doing, so it won't be the blind leading the blind," said Lucius with a smirk.

Hermione eyed him slyly. "You mean you've never...?"

Lucius shook his head. "Only in my fantasies."

"How about you?" she asked Severus.

"A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell," he replied with waggle of his eyebrows. "I will say I've never in this particular configuration."

"Oh my! This is going to be fun, this time I get to be the teacher," she said with a grin. She twisted to lean toward Lucius and grimaced in pain. "I suppose, though, that it will have to wait until I've healed completely," she said as she clutched her side.

"Are you all right, love? Should we call the Healer, or get you a dose of pain potion, perhaps?"

"I'll be fine, I'm still a little sore is all. Most of all, I just want out of here and I want to see Orrie. I want to go home. Will you two take me home, please?"

"You are not leaving here, until the Healer clears it," Severus scolded.

Lucius agreed, admitting that Healer Mumford had been the Malfoy family healer for decades and he was just a little bit afraid of her. "She rules with an iron fist, but she's the very best there is. I won't sneak you out without her approval."

Hermione pouted. "Well, at least stay here with me then. I don't want to be alone anymore." She pushed back the sheets and patted the bed on either side of her.

"Hermione, this is St. Mungo's—" objected Lucius.

Hermione interrupted, "I don't care. It isn't as though we're going to be shagging in the bed here, I just want to cuddle. Please?"

"This bed is too small for all of us," said Severus.

She gave both of them a look. "Are you wizards or what?" she asked. "I don't have a wand or I'd do it myself. Just fix it and get in here with your witch before she starts to think that you don't want her."

"Our lady commands, Severus." said Lucius, as with a flick of his wand the bed expanded to a size that would accommodate them all easily.

Severus was already toeing off his boots and removing his outer robes. They both climbed in and held her, making her feel safe and secure and before long they had all drifted off to sleep.

* * *

They were awakened by a screech from the morning shift nurse entering the room. Healer Mumford was right behind her. "What is wrong with you, girl?" she asked at the nurse's outburst.

Upon seeing the three in the bed she commented, "Oh, for Merlin's sake, they're both fully clothed. It isn't as though you'd just caught them in flagrante. Get out of here, you silly thing and let me talk to my patient."

By the time she had shoo'd the nurse from the room, Severus and Lucius had both risen from the bed and were presentable.

Ignoring the two wizards, Healer Mumford addressed Hermione. "I take it you are feeling better now, Miss Granger?"

"Yes, Healer, I am. I'm still a bit stiff and sore but other than that I'm fine. Now that I know my daughter is safe and my wizards have returned unharmed, I just want to go home. Please could I go home?"

"Well, let me examine you, young lady, and I will give you my answer." She turned to Lucius and Severus. "If you gentlemen will wait outside for moment, while I check my patient."

She held her wand over Hermione's body and cast several Diagnostic Spells. She then set her wand down and proceeded to gently prod and poke Hermione. She had her move her arms and legs, looked at her eyes and down her throat. Finally she gave her opinion. "You are better, but you are not completely well. Right now you still need rest and I do not think you are ready to take on the care of an active toddler."

Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but Healer Mumford held up her hand. "I am not saying you have to stay here. I will discharge you today, with the understanding that you will rest for at least another week and you will have someone with you to help with the child and to care for you as well."

Hermione smiled broadly and nodded her agreement.

"I take it that Lucius and Mr. Snape will be taking on the duties of caregivers?"

Hermione blushed and responded, "Yes, I believe they would be willing."

Healer Mumford patted her hand and commented, "My dear, I have always heard that you were a bright witch and I would have to say it's true. To have captured the attention of those two you are a very clever girl indeed."

Hermione cast her eyes downward and answered. "It's entirely because of Orrie, really. They both care very much for her. She's the real reason they were attracted to me."

Healer Mumford studied the young woman before her for a moment. "Hermione." the Healer used her given name for the first time. Hermione looked up at her. "You are very mistaken if you believe that is true. I have seen how they both look at you. The child may have been the catalyst, but both of those wizards care for you deeply. It's quite obvious to me."

"Thank you, Healer," said Hermione, beaming with happiness.

"Well then, I will go speak to your caregivers and give them your discharge orders. You are to remain here until they come to get you."

"Yes, ma'am," she responded obediently.

* * *

Healer Mumford stepped out into the hall to find Hermione's two wizards hovering outside the doorway. She quickly explained the situation. "Now if I discharge her, she must continue to rest, and she will need help to care for the child. She will not be allowed to resume her work until I have seen her for a follow-up visit to make sure she is fine, and in the meantime no strenuous activity."

"Don't worry, Healer. We will follow your instructions explicitly. We will be sure to keep her in bed," promised Lucius.

"You know how stubborn she is," muttered Severus. "We may have to tie her up to keep her there."

Healer Mumford eyed them both with a smirk. "You two did hear me say no strenuous activity, right?"

At their reaction she laughed loudly. "I do believe I am the only person alive who is able to claim they have actually made both Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape blush." She chuckled again as she walked away to fill out all the discharge paperwork.

* * *

They took her back to her house. She had insisted on it, although Lucius wanted her and Orrie to come live at the manor. For now, she felt it was better for Orrie to go home. "We will move to the manor eventually, Lucius, I promise. For right now, though, I think she should be where it's familiar. She's been through a very traumatic ordeal; we all have. I just want to bring her home to what she's used to."

On this point, Severus agreed with her, so Lucius was overruled. Severus took Hermione home and got her all settled. She insisted on remaining downstairs for the day, so Severus transfigured the sofa into a day bed.

Meanwhile, Lucius had gone to the Potter's to retrieve Orrie, who was equally as excited to come home as the three of them were to have her there. When they arrived it was a joyous reunion with many hugs and kisses and tears and laughter. Orrie rambled on and on about everything that had happened, and how happy she was to learn that she hadn't dips-a-peered her mum away forever.

Later on that night Severus volunteered to read Orrie her bedtime story. Hermione snuggled with Lucius on the day bed which had since been enlarged. She was more tired than she wanted to admit from the busy day and was leaning against his shoulder dozing.

Hermione heard his muffled '_Accio_' and she stirred as the picture of Elise and Orrie flew to his hand. She watched him for several minutes from beneath her lashes as he studied the photograph. Finally, when she couldn't stand wondering any longer, she asked, "Lucius? What are you thinking about?"

Looking down at her, he smiled and shifted so he could put his arm around her shoulders and pull her closer to his side. "I was just thinking how fate works in mysterious ways, my love," he said bending to kiss the tip of her nose.

"Take the two of us, for instance, and now Severus too. Having Orrie in our lives has changed us all, and made us better too, I think. I never would have thought that me finding my daughter would, in turn, lead to me finding a whole new family, but it has and I'm grateful for that. Above all else, I guess I was wishing that I could thank Elise for everything that she has given us. She gave each of us not only Orrie to love, but through it all, it has helped us to find our way to each other. That is the greatest gift there is, and it was truly a gift of love."

~fin~


End file.
